Department for Transport

Driving: Licensing

Lesley Laird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps the (a) Government and (b) DVLA has taken to ensure that people over 70 are assessed to ensure safety when driving.

Jesse Norman: The existing process is that drivers must renew their driving entitlement at the age of 70 and every three years after that. This provides a timely reminder to individuals to consider their health in the context of driving. To renew they must make a legal declaration that they can meet the standards and confirm whether they have any listed medical condition. Those who advise of a medical condition will be investigated and a driving licence will only be issued if they can meet the appropriate health standards. The Department for Transport announced in June 2018 that it has identified older people as one of four priority road user groups which will be included in the forthcoming Road Safety Statement and action plan. The DVLA is working closely with the Department on this.

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134899 on Motor Vehicles: Lighting, whether the review of the technical requirements been published.

Jesse Norman: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) informal working group (IWG) on Visibility, Glare and Levelling has reported back to the Working Party on Lighting and Light Signalling. The documents and reports for these groups are publicly available on the UNECE website: http://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.html. The IWG proposed to revise the headlamp aiming criteria for new vehicles but the working party did not consider their proposal to be sufficiently developed for inclusion in the regulations. As a result, it was decided that this work will continue as part of a broader review of vehicle lighting regulations.

Railways: Tickets

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) how much his Department has spent and (b) what progress his Department has made on the introduction of smart ticketing technology across the railway in (a) 2016 (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

Andrew Jones: In 2017 we set a goal of securing smart ticketing across almost all of our rail network by 2018. As a result of our £80 million investment in smart ticketing nationally and the first phase of the £150m investment in Transport for the North’s multi-modal programme, passengers can now obtain a smart card or barcode ticket across almost all of the rail network.

Railways: Mobile Phones

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with train operating companies on the delivery of mobile connectivity for rail passengers.

Andrew Jones: The department continues to be in regular dialogue about mobile connectivity for rail passengers with Train Operating Companies.

Railways: Mobile Phones

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of mobile coverage provided to rail passengers.

Andrew Jones: Ofcom are collecting data on the signal strength available to rail passengers. We expect a report to be published this calendar year.

Railways: WiFi

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the quality of Wi-Fi services available to rail passengers as required under the terms of rail franchise agreements.

Andrew Jones: The department is monitoring the roll out of wi-ifi equipment being fitted to trains as part of their franchise agreement. In addition, Transport Focus surveys passenger satisfaction over a range of issues, including the availability of wi-fi.

Cycling and Walking: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Havering Borough is planned to receive any funding from central government to implement the measures in the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.

Jesse Norman: In London, transport is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London. This includes cycling, and extends to deciding which cycle schemes to develop and promote. The Secretary of State for Transport thus has no plans to issue funding to the borough for implementation of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans.

Chiltern Railway Line

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received representations on noise and disturbance as a result of the decision by Chiltern Railway to use  Wrexham diesel express buggies trains on the Marylebone to South Ruislip line; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: No representations have been made to the Department for Transport on this matter.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish revised estimates for the (a) additional costs identified through the ground investigations for phase two of High Speed Two and (b) construction costs of phase two.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Updated cost estimates will be published in our next updated business cases for Phase 2a and 2b.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the accounting officer for his Department has sought a written ministerial direction for expenditure on contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Richard Harrington: No. For information, the only ministerial direction issued by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for European Union exit preparations related to the development of a UK database for product safety. This is to ensure critical protections remain in place on leaving the European Union. This was issued on 19 March 2018.Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-exit-preparations-beis-ministerial-direction

Business Plans: Disasters

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the level of support for customers who lost goods and possessions in the Shurgard fire in Croydon on New Year’s Eve, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of requirements on businesses to plan for major disasters and support affected customers; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, contracts entered into by a trader and a consumer where a trader agrees to carry out a service, such as storing their goods, have to be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Traders are prohibited from including a term in the contract which limits its liability when carrying out that service. For free information and advice on their rights, consumers should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 (www.citizensadvice.org/). Whilst we do not place any requirements on businesses to plan for emergencies, we do encourage businesses to be prepared and the Cabinet Office provides good practice guidance on the actions they can take on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-emergencies/preparing-for-emergenciesIn addition, the Cabinet Office publishes the National Risk Register which contains further information and resources to help individuals, businesses and communities to plan for specific emergencies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-risk-register-of-civil-emergencies-2017-edition.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff at (a) Companies House, (b) the Insolvency Service, (c) the Intellectual Property Service (d) the Met Office and (e) the UK Space Agency (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff at (a) Companies House, (b) the Insolvency Service , (c) the Intellectual Property Service, (d) the Met Office and (e) the UK Space Agency (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Richard Harrington: I have asked the CEO of each organisation to write to the hon. Member on this matter, and copies of these letters are attached.



Chief Executive Letters
(PDF Document, 142.7 KB)




Letters from Chief Executives
(PDF Document, 148.38 KB)

Limited Liability: Company Accounts

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) Scottish, (b) English and (c) Northern Irish Partnerships have been prosecuted each year since 2009 under Section 15.6 of The Partnerships (Accounts) Regulations 2008, for failure to make their accounts available (a) to Companies House, (b) at their Principal Place of Business and (c) through mechanisms provided in other EEA countries.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 21 January 2019



No Scottish, English and Northern Irish Partnerships have been prosecuted in each of the past three years, the latest years for which information is available, for failure to make their accounts available (a) to Companies House, (b) at their Principal Place of Business (c) through mechanisms provided in other EEA countries.

Post Offices

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many post offices there were by type of branch in each constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The management of the network is an operational matter for the Post Office Limited.I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many post offices were classified as under temporary closure by type of branch in each constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The management of the network is operational matter for the Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria his Department uses to classify a post office under temporary closure.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The management of the branch network, which includes temporary closures, are operational matters for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what process his Department uses to re-open a post office that has been subject to temporary closure.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. With a network of over 11,500 branches, temporary closures can and do occur, often for reasons beyond the Post Office’s control. When this happens, the Post Office works hard to reinstate a permanent service for the community as soon as practically possible. The management of the branch network is an operational responsibility of the Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons: Public Records

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the archive files relating to Britain’s nuclear weapons and atomic energy programmes were withdrawn from the National Archives by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in 2018.

Richard Harrington: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, working in collaboration with colleagues from the Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Weapons Establishment, is undertaking a security review of nuclear information records in the archives at Kew. As part of the review process, a collection of records (including many relating to the early development of military and civil nuclear technology) has been temporarily withdrawn from general access. At this stage, it is still unclear how long the review will take, but the NDA does anticipate that many of the documents will be restored to the public archive in due course. In the meantime, archived material can be requested through Freedom of Information access requests.

Public Houses: Legal Costs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of crowdfunding by lessees to raise money to challenge decisions made by pub companies in the courts.

Kelly Tolhurst: If a dispute arises between a lessee (also known as a tenant) and a pub company - following a decision made by the latter, that is a matter for those parties to resolve. If parties wish to pursue a dispute through the courts, they are free to determine how they will fund advice and representation. In England and Wales, if a matter falls within the scope of the relevant provisions of the Pubs Code it can be referred to the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

New Businesses: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with his Northern Ireland counterparts on the support offered to entrepreneurs seeking to start new businesses.

Kelly Tolhurst: Due to the current absence of an Executive in Northern Ireland, discussions between HMG and the administration are currently being held with officials in the Northern Irish Civil Service. The monthly EU Exit Devolved Administrations Forum, which rotates location between Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and London, is one particular example of cross-governmental engagement on business issues. In January, the forum discussed various issues relevant to the devolved administrations, such as no deal planning, Statutory Instruments, as well as other topics such as business engagement and operational readiness regarding EU Exit.  Regarding support for Northern Ireland entrepreneurs, they can access support through schemes such as the the Go For It programme providing step by step advice and mentoring to produce their own business plan for people wishing to start a business. The British Business Bank-owned StartUp Loans Company (SULCO) has lent 945 startup loans, worth over £6.5 million. The Autumn Budget 2018 announced that Government would extend Start-Up Loans funding to 2021, meaning it will be able to back a further 10,000 entrepreneurs across the UK.

Shops: Closures

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department holds statistics on the number of stores that closed in each quarter in each of the last five years.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 21 January 2019



The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not carry statistics on the number of stores closing in each quarter.

Parental Leave

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish its evaluation of shared parental leave.

Kelly Tolhurst: We intend to publish the findings from the evaluation later in 2019.

Civil Nuclear Constabulary

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on expanding the role of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary to augment police resources in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Richard Harrington: There have been no discussions about expanding the roles and responsibilities of the CNC in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal. The CNC is part of long-standing arrangements to provide mutual aid to other police forces, and will provide support, when requested, provided there is no impact on meeting their core civil nuclear security mission.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Brazil: LGBT People

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Brazilian counterpart on LGBT+ rights in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK is a strong champion of LGBT rights on the international stage and we will not shy away from standing up for our values. Our embassy has been in contact with the new Government and we have raised our concerns with them.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Travel

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.

Sir Alan Duncan: The FCO is by definition a global organisation which uses travel as an essential part of its role.FCO Policy is that public transport should be used whenever possible. All FCO staff are directed to use standard class for rail travel unless there are exceptional circumstances. Prior line management approval must be given.FCO staff travelling by air are required to book the lowest standard fare possible, subject to budget holder approval. FCO officials may fly business class only if the flight is ten hours or longer, or on flights of more than 5 hours in exceptional circumstances.The FCO's expenditure on taxi, First class rail and Business class air travel is detailed in the table below. The figures on First class rail and Business class represent travel booked through the Government's nominated travel agency. Financial YearTaxi TravelFirst Class Rail TravelBusiness Class Air Travel2010/11£0.3m£38,081£4.8m2011/12£0.3m£24,455£5.2m2012/13£0.3m£19,724£6.1m2013/14£1.4m£1,590£5.4m2014/15£1.3m£3,057£4.5m2015/16£1.7m£2,597£4.6m2016/17£1.5m£142£3.3m2017/18£1.4m£0£5.7m

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in relation to (a) women and (b) political activists in Saudi Arabia.

Alistair Burt: Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, particularly because of the use of the death penalty, women's rights and restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief.We welcome recent positive developments, including the end on the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, but recognise women's rights still fall short of international standards.The UK strongly supports freedom of expression. We believe that civil society organisations and individuals should have the freedom to express their opinions, including where they challenge government policy. This includes Human Rights Defenders – those people that seek to promote universal human rights for their fellow citizens. We support them as a matter of principle, provided they do not advocate or use violent means.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Narges Mohammadi

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps is he taking to ensure that (a) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and (b) Narges Mohammadi receive adequate and timely medical care.

Alistair Burt: The treatment of all British-Iranians detained in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a priority for the Government. We urgently raise these cases with the Iranian Government at every opportunity. On 14 January, the Foreign Secretary summoned the Iranian Ambassdor to the UK. The Foreign Secretary called for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be immediately given the healthcare she requires and for her and other British-Iranian dual nationals to be released. The Iranian authorities have since confirmed that access to external medical treatment will be permitted. We will continue to raise Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case, as well as our other consular cases, with the Iranian Government at every opportunity, including requesting consular access, and will continue to take action in line with what we believe will produce the best outcomes in their cases. We are only able to provide consular support to British nationals, including dual nationals, and to otherwise un-represented EU and Commonwealth nationals. Mrs Mohammadi as she holds Iranian nationality only, is not eligible for consular assistance.

Syria: Islamic State

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the fight against Daesh in Syria of the decision of the US Administration to withdraw troops from that country.

Alistair Burt: ​We are working closely with the US and other allies following the decision of the Administration to withdraw troops from Syria, including on implications for military action by the Global Coalition against Daesh. Since military operations began, the Global Coalition and its partners in Syria and Iraq have recaptured the vast majority of Daesh territory. Important advances continue to be made in the last small Daesh pocket in eastern Syria. As the US recognises, it is important that withdrawal of their forces from Syria takes place in a way which allows this significant progress to be maintained.

Islamic State

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government next plans to provide an update to Parliament on the fight against Daesh.

Alistair Burt: ​The British Government updates the House regularly on the progress of the counter Daesh campaign in Iraq and Syria. We intend to update the House as soon as possible.

Israel: Gaza

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of effect of renewed rocket fire from Gaza into Israel on the political situation in that region.

Alistair Burt: The UK fully supports Israel’s right to self-defence. Indiscriminate rocket attacks against civilians are unacceptable and unjustifiable. The perpetual cycle of violence does not serve anyone’s interests, and must end. Ultimately, the ongoing decision by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to embrace violence lies at the heart of the Gaza situation. We need a durable agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict and transforms the situation in Gaza.

Israel: Gaza

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of tunnel construction into Israel by Hamas in Gaza on the political situation in that region.

Alistair Burt: We remain deeply concerned by Hamas's attempts to re-arm and rebuild militant infrastructure, including the tunnel network, in Gaza. Such actions undermine efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harm the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Palestinians: Politics and Government

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of adequacy of democratic processes in the Palestinian Authority.

Alistair Burt: Inclusive, accountable and democratic institutions and processes, based on respect of the rule of law and human rights, are important goals. Along with EU partners, we have encouraged the Palestinian leadership to continue their work towards genuine and democratic elections for Palestinians.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support a peace process in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is playing a leading role in seeking a political solution to end the conflict and incalculable suffering in Yemen. On 16 January, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to back the UK-led resolution which bolsters the UN Yemen peace process. It will establish a six month UN mission to monitor the Hodeidah ceasefire. The ceasefire is an important step towards peace but by no means guaranteed. It is therefore vital that all parties act in good faith and take urgent steps to implement these agreements.

China: Dogs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Chinese Government on banning the Yulin dog meat festival.

Mark Field: The Government is committed to raising standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. The sale and consumption of dog meat remains legal in parts of many countries, including China. However, there are no international norms, laws or agreements governing this trade. We believe that it is necessary to work with governments around the world to gain agreement to animal welfare standards. We have raised our concerns on specific animal welfare issues with the Chinese authorities and will continue to do so.

Iran: Prisoners' Release

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to secure the release of UK-Iranian nationals imprisoned in Iran.

Alistair Burt: The treatment of all British-Iranians detained in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a priority for the Government. We raise these cases with the Iranian Government at every opportunity. On 14 January, the Foreign Secretary summoned the Iranian Ambassador to the UK. The Foreign Secretary called for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe immediately to be given the healthcare she requires and for her and other British-Iranian dual nationals to be released. The Iranian authorities have since confirmed that access to external medical treatment will be permitted. We will continue to raise Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case, as well as our other consular cases, with the Iranian Government at every opportunity, including requesting consular access, and will continue to take action in line with what we believe will produce the best outcomes in their cases.

Press Freedom

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the rights and freedoms of journalists throughout the world.

Mark Field: The UK is committed to the promotion of media freedom and the protection of journalists worldwide. A free and independent media is the lifeblood of democracy. My RHF the Foreign Secretary has announced the launch an international campaign throughout 2019 to end the climate of impunity and mobilise a consensus behind the protection of journalists. In the coming year and beyond, we are going to increase the global spotlight on media freedom as an important issue and raise the costs to Governments, and Others, that abuse media freedom. Later this year we plan to host an international conference on media freedom with the aim of bringing the issue to the attention of opinion-formers across the globe, promoting the value and benefits of a free media to a wide audience, and mobilising an international consensus behind the protection of journalists.

Zimbabwe: Violence

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports of recent violence in Zimbabwe.

Harriett Baldwin: While we condemn the violent behaviour of some protestors, and unlawful acts such as arson and looting, we are deeply concerned that Zimbabwe’s security forces have acted disproportionately in response. In particular, there are disturbing reports of use of live ammunition, intimidation and excessive force. On 17 January I summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador to highlight our concern at the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe.

Mali: Politics and Government

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Mali; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government continues to be concerned about the situation in Mali. We reiterate our previous calls on the Government of Mali and the Plateforme and Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) to redouble their efforts and take the additional steps needed for the immediate and full implementation of the 2015 Algiers Peace Agreement. We welcome recent efforts to accelerate disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) efforts but underline the need for these efforts to accompanied by concurrent political and institutional reform, as well as initiatives to promote the development of northern Mali to improve the lives of ordinary people.We are deeply concerned by the large numbers of civilians that continue to be affected by terrorist attacks and intercommunal clashes, particularly in the centre of Mali. We unequivocally condemn recent attacks against security personnel and express our condolences to all those who have been affected by violence. We have made clear that the security situation should be addressed through a comprehensive approach to address underlying grievances and avoid further deterioration. We encourage the Government of Mali to work with all partners to help reduce violent conflict.

China: Ethnic Groups

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on reports from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Mark Field: We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports of re-education camps, and widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities.During China’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November, the UK made a statement which described our concern about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs. We issued a specific recommendation, calling on China to implement the recommendations by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Xinjiang, and to allow the UN to monitor the implementation.I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.​

Christianity

Peter Aldous: What steps his Department is taking to reduce the persecution of Christians overseas.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary has commissioned an independent, global review into the additional practical steps the Government can take to support persecuted Christians. The review will report by Easter.

Venezuela: Politics and Government

John Spellar: What diplomatic steps he is taking to tackle the constitutional and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and the effect of that crisis on the political and economic situation in neighbouring countries.

Sir Alan Duncan: We are all concerned about the situation in Venezuela, a crisis of growing regional magnitude. Only yesterday 25 members of the National Guard revolted against Maduro's leadership. In October 2018, speaking at Chatham House, I called for a concerted regional and global response to what has become a man-made regional crisis. The UK is standing alongside American, EU and Lima Group partners to ensure a robust response to the crisis; all options remain open including further targeted sanctions.

Christianity

Stephen Kerr: What steps his Department is taking to reduce the persecution of Christians overseas.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary has commissioned an independent, global review into the additional practical steps the Government can take to support persecuted Christians. The review will report by Easter.

Colombia: Peace Negotiations

Christian Matheson: What assessment he has made of progress on the peace process in Colombia.

Sir Alan Duncan: I strongly condemn the ELN's terrorist attack in Bogota last week. Colombia has been steadfast in its rejection of violence for political ends. The 2016 historic peace deal has shown the way, the FARC is now a political party and last year's elections were the safest in decades. The UK continues to support the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace for all Colombians. Last month I announced an extra £5 million from the Conflict Stability and Security Fund to support Colombia's efforts to secure lasting peace for all its citizens.

Papua: Measles

Alex Sobel: What discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on (a) the provision of measles vaccinations in West Papua and (b) access to healthcare for West Papuans.

Mark Field: Officals at our Embassy in Jakarta, including the Ambassador, visit Papua and West Papua regularly. During these visits they press the Indonesian authorities to address legitimate concerns and ensure the sustainable and equitable development of the province. This includes access to healthcare. We have not to date raised the specific issue of measles immunisations, but I am happy to confirm to the honourable member that we shall do so.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.

Kwasi Kwarteng: A - In the vast majority of circumstances, the Department receives its legal advice from an in-house team of Government lawyers for which it is not charged hourly rates. Where necessary, external Counsel are used, for which the highest hourly rate identified is £250 excluding VAT.B - N/A - The Department does not have any Arms Length Bodies.

Brexit

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 111 of the Political Declaration Setting Out The Framework For The Future Relationship Between The European Union And The United Kingdom, published on 14 November 2018, which of the activities of the Cooperation Group the UK plans to maintain after the UK leaves the EU.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Political Declaration between the United Kingdom and the European Union reaffirms the commitment of both parties to the exchange of information on a range of threats. This includes incidents, techniques and best practice, as well as a commitment to establish a cyber-dialogue in order to ensure future cooperation as new threats, opportunities and partnerships emerge.The exact nature of our future cooperation with the EU on this area, including in relation to Network and Information Security (NIS) Cooperation Group, will be a matter for detailed negotiations.

European Parliament: Elections

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) EU representatives on holding European parliamentary elections in the UK in 2019 in the event that the UK's withdrawal from the EU is delayed.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has been clear that the UK will cease to be a member of the European Union on 29 March 2019. After this date the UK will no longer have Members of the European Parliament. The Secretary of State has therefore not had discussions with Cabinet colleagues and EU representatives on this matter.

Department of Health and Social Care

Midwives

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the midwife headcount in the NHS was in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and of those figures how many had (a) a recorded nationality and (b) a recorded nationality that was of an EU member state other than the UK.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the midwife headcount figures for HCHS staff in England, who had recorded a nationality and of those whose nationality was of a European Union 27 member state, as at 30 September for each of the years specified:  20142015201620172018Midwifery headcount figures of which:25,33325,41825,46625,70425,866Recorded a nationality of which:22,49923,12123,48624,04624,391EU271,1241,2511,3551,3881,354Source: NHS Digital, NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics

Midwives

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age profile is of NHS midwives identified as nationals of an EU member state other than the UK.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the number of midwives by five-year age band and nationality grouping in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England as at 30 September 2018, headcount: All nationalitiesUnited KingdomEuropean Union 27European Economic AreaRest of the WorldUnknownAll age bands25,86622,5481,35494801,477Under 251,2421,16338143625 to 293,4372,971356-159530 to 343,3722,97127712110235 to 393,3672,95318224418640 to 442,9902,61414628414645 to 493,1372,709107110221850 to 544,2253,6639019337855 to 592,8462,47084-5623660 to 641,079892621497565 and over17114212-125Source: NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics, NHS Digital

NHS: Migrant Workers

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy to encourage NHS employers to reimburse the £65 application fee for staff who need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Stephen Hammond: Following on from the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday, as of 30 March 2019, EU nationals who apply for settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme will no longer have to pay to make an application.

NHS: Standards

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce NHS waiting times in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) England.

Stephen Hammond: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is implementing its Integrated Improvement Plan to reduce waiting times. Part of the focus is to manage demand through the use of one stop clinics, improving pathways to prevent 52+ week waits, optimising care in cancer services, improving access to diagnostic services, increasing theatre productivity and the use of outsourcing to increase capacity. NHS England’s ‘Operational and Planning Guidance for 2019/20’ sets out deliverables against key performance areas and the Government expects the National Health Service to deliver these actions set – in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards. In addition, the Long Term Plan, launched by the NHS on 7 January 2018, will transform patient care and make sure every penny of taxpayers’ money is spent wisely. This is supported by the Government’s investment of £20.5 billion a year in real terms by 2023/24. Under the Long Term Plan, the local NHS is being allocated sufficient funds over the next five years to grow the amount of planned surgery year on year, to cut long waits, and reduce the waiting list. The phasing of this will be determined annually through the planning guidance process.

Postnatal Care

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason there is no reference to maternal postnatal checks in the NHS Long Term Plan, and what plans his Department has to introduce such checks for new mothers.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Commissioners and providers should ensure that services offer a review of a woman’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing by a healthcare professional at the end of the postnatal period (6-8 weeks). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on postnatal care stipulate that a documented, individualised postnatal care plan should be developed with the woman ideally in the antenatal period or as soon as possible after birth. The Long Term Plan highlights that we will continue to work with midwives, mothers and their families to implement continuity of carer so that, by March 2021, most women receive continuity of the person caring for them during pregnancy, during birth and postnatally.

Preventive Medicine: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to  paragraph 2.3 of the NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, what funding he plans to provide to the NHS to deliver the new commitments for action to improve prevention.

Steve Brine: The NHS Long Term Plan is a 10 year strategy for our health service. It sets out what the National Health Service will prioritise over the next decade, underpinned by this Government’s investment of £33.9 billion a year in cash terms, the equivalent of £20.5 billion in real terms, by 2023/24. The commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the new commitments the NHS will take to improve prevention, are funded through this settlement.

Department of Health and Social Care: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff at (a) Care Quality Commission, (b) Health Education England, (c) Health Research Authority, (d) Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and (e) NHS England that work (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC), Health Education England (HEE), the Health Research Authority, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and NHS England comply with minimum wage legislation and pay all directly employed staff at levels at or above the National Living Wage. All London employees of the CQC, HEE, the HRA, the MHRA and NHS England earn the London Living Wage. The CQC has 290 employees outside London earning less than the London Living Wage.HEE has 229 employees outside London earning less than the London Living Wage.The HRA has 21 employees outside London earning less than the London Living Wage.The MHRA has three employees outside London earning less than the London Living Wage.NHS England has 282 employees outside London earning less than the London Living Wage.

Department of Health and Social Care: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff at (a) Care Quality Commission, (b) Health Education England, (c) Health Research Authority, (d) Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and (e) NHS England that work (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC), Health Education England (HEE), the Health Research Authority, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and NHS England comply with minimum wage legislation and pay all directly employed staff at levels at or above the National Living Wage. The CQC, HEE, the HRA, the MHRA and NHS England have no staff in London who earn below the Real Living Wage. The CQC has 73 employees earning below the Real Living Wage outside of London.HEE has 0 employees earning below the Real Living Wage outside of London.The HRA has 0 employees earning below the Real Living Wage outside of London.The MHRA has 0 employees earning below the Real Living Wage outside of London.NHS England has five employees earning below the Real Living Wage outside of London.

NHS England: Non-domestic Rates

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the NHS England budget was spent on business rates in each of the last four years.

Stephen Hammond: The proportion of NHS England’s expenditure incurred on business rates over the last four financial years is set out in the following table. This includes commissioning support units and clinical commissioning groups. National Health Service properties, like almost all other buildings occupied by public bodies, have been subject to non-domestic rates since they were introduced. Operational costs related to property, which include business rates, are taken into account at spending reviews in determining the overall level of funding for the NHS. Financial Year% of total NHS England Group expenditure2017-180.06%2016-170.09%2015-160.13%2014-150.18%

Department of Health and Social Care: Travel

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.

Caroline Dinenage: The information is provided in the following table.  2015201620172018 Taxis£194,944£121,603£85,762£28,731Data Source: General Ledger (GL) account code analysisFirst Class Train Tickets£31,539£22,743£7,109£4,724Data Source: tRIPS SystemBusiness Class Air Travel£25,878£35,939£15,456£55,047Data Source: tRIPS System and Income notification formsNotes: Years are calendar years 1 January to 31 December.Rail figures calculated based on invoice date and amount paid.Air figures calculated based on invoice date and fare paid.

Autism: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children who have been diagnosed with autism in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham and (c) London in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Dinenage: This data is not currently available. Indicators on autism diagnosis and post-diagnostic outcomes were included in the Mental Health Services Dataset collection for the first time from 1 April 2018. We expect this data will be published during 2019.

Nutrients: Children and Young People

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of changes to the Nutrient Profile Model on the likely intake of Vitamin D and calcium by children and young adults.

Steve Brine: The Nutrient Profiling Model considers the balance of the ingredients and nutritional content of a food or drink. It does not measure the contribution of foods and drinks to the diet overall. No assessment of vitamin D or calcium intake of children has been made. The Nutrient Profiling Model is available to view at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nutrient-profiling-model

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling women under the age of 25 to undergo cervical screening.

Steve Brine: Almost all cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) which is linked to the development of the disease. With the high uptake of the HPV vaccination in adolescent girls since 2008, there is little evidence for lowering the age of cervical screening, as those born since September 1994 will turn 25 this year and become eligible for routine screening. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee looked at the starting age for cervical screening in 2012 and recommended that screening should be offered from the age of 25. This was based on the evidence that screening below this age would in fact cause more harm than benefit. Younger women often undergo natural and harmless changes in the cervix that screening would identify as cervical abnormalities. In the vast majority of cases these abnormalities will resolve themselves without any need for treatment. A number of questions and answers have been written to help explain the rationale for starting screening at age 25 rather than 20. This document can be viewed at the following link: https://legacyscreening.phe.org.uk/cervicalcancer-qa

Vijay Patel

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s official representative on the Honours health committee had discussions with the Honours economy committee on the OBE appointment of Vijay Patel in advance of the New Year’s Honours list 2019.

Caroline Dinenage: The honours system is independent. Recommendations are made by one of ten independent expert committees, with independent chairs and a majority of independent members, who assess the merits of all nominations. We are unable to comment on discussions held by committees on any nomination.

Hospices: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on hospice finances of the decision to raise NHS employer contributions to its pension scheme from April 2019; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: In addition to the long-term funding settlement for the National Health Service, HM Treasury committed to providing extra funding to meet the costs to the NHS arising from the ongoing actuarial valuation of the NHS Pension Scheme. Work is ongoing to ensure the additional cost to participating employers is appropriately funded. Discussions are underway with NHS England and NHS Improvement to determine the optimum method for distributing this funding to NHS commissioners and service providers. Arrangements will be confirmed in due course.

Learning Disability: Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether compliance with national learning disability improvement standards will be mandatory for NHS funded services and whether those services will be (a) regulated and (b) rated for national learning disability improvement standards.

Caroline Dinenage: The NHS Standard Contract 2019/20 mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners of all healthcare services except primary care, requires all providers in England to have regard to the national learning disability improvement standards and guidance. The NHS Long Term Plan outlines the expectation that all National Health Service funded care providers should have implemented the improvement standards by 2023/24 and the Care Quality Commission is working with NHS Improvement to consider how they can ensure adoption of the improvement standards by trusts. To monitor and ensure compliance with the improvement standards, NHS Improvement has commissioned the NHS Benchmarking Network to facilitate national data collection across all NHS trusts. NHS Improvement has provided tools for trusts to self-assess their performance against the improvement standards which auto-generate performance and ratings scales. NHS Improvement can use these outcomes to identify where there are exemplary assurances processes in place and excellence in care delivery.

Vaccination: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK’s immunisation programme is adequately funded.

Steve Brine: Prevention is at the heart of the NHS Long Term Plan for England, which is backed by a £20.5 billion per year increase in funding for the NHS in England by 2023/24. Immunisation is a key preventative measure and the Long Term Plan commits to prioritising improvements in childhood immunisation and immunisation uptake, and to reviewing funding of general practitioner-delivered immunisations in England. The Department will work with NHS England and Public Health England to ensure that sufficient funding is allocated to fulfil these commitments. The immunisation programme is demand-led and funding for vaccination programmes (including the cost of vaccines) in England is estimated as part of the Department’s Spending Review process. We are committed to ensuring immunisation remains adequately funded under the next Spending Review, reflecting that prevention is one of the priorities set out by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Health is a devolved matter. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises United Kingdom health departments on vaccinations. The Health Protection (Vaccination) Regulations 2009 place a duty on the Secretary of State for Health in England to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable and subject to specified criteria, that the recommendations of JCVI are implemented.

Health Professions: Recruitment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan how many (a) nurses and (b) doctors the NHS in England plan to recruit in each year up to 2022-24.

Stephen Hammond: It is the responsibility of National Health Service trusts to have staffing arrangements in place that deliver safe and effective care. This includes recruiting the staff needed to support these levels and meet local needs. The NHS Long Term Plan, published 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the NHS will have the staff it needs so that nurses and doctors have the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed providing. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key NHS interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals to grow the workforce, including consideration of additional staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff. We are already increasing nurse training places by 25% - that is 5,000 additional nurse training places available every year from September 2018. In 2018 up to 5,000 Nursing Associates commenced training through the apprentice route and the Department has a commitment to train up to a further 7,500 in 2019. We have also made a commitment to have 5,000 additional doctors in general practice and we have started to roll out an extra 1,500 medical school places for domestic students, with the first 630 places taken up in September. By 2020, five new medical schools will have opened to help deliver the expansion.

NHS: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to reduce administrative costs by £700 million across commissioners and providers, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of jobs as a result of that reduction.

Stephen Hammond: The NHS Long Term Plan is a 10-year strategy for our National Health Service. It sets out how the NHS will spend the £20.5 billion a year real terms annual increase going into the NHS budget by 2023/24. It is important that every additional penny of funding is being well spent. Through year-on-year improvements in efficiency and productivity, the NHS will continue to cut waste from the system. This includes delivering savings of over £700 million by 2023/24 across providers and commissioner administrative costs to ensure that an increasing share of the NHS budget is invested in frontline services including additional frontline workforce. Local health systems will be expected to engage with their local communities and delivery partners in developing local plans in 2019, setting out proposals for how they will deliver the outcomes in the Long Term Plan. These will be brought together in a detailed national implementation programme by the autumn.

Electronic Cigarettes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to issue further guidance to (a) businesses and (b) local authorities in line with Public Health England's advice on vaping in public places and workspaces.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to issue guidance to businesses and local authorities on vaping in public places and workplaces.

Steve Brine: There are no plans to do so. Public Health England published advice on the use of e-cigarettes in public places and workplaces in 2016 which is available to access publicly at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/use-of-e-cigarettes-in-public-places-and-workplaces

Smoking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce smoking and (b) encourage smokers to transition to vaping.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the fall in smoking rates continues.

Steve Brine: The Government published its five-year tobacco control plan for England in July 2017. This set out a vision of a smoke-free generation and detailed ambitions to reduce smoking prevalence amongst adults, pregnant women and young people, as well as to reduce the inequality gap in smoking prevalence between those in routine and manual occupations and the general population. The plan also outlined a commitment to support consumers in stopping smoking and adopting the use of less harmful nicotine products such as e-cigarettes. The Government published ‘The Tobacco Control Delivery Plan 2017-2022’ in June 2018, setting out the steps the Government and key delivery partners will take to help deliver those ambitions, including ongoing review of safety, uptake, impact and effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a means of quitting.

Electronic Cigarettes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has met with vape product manufacturers in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: I met with the Independent British Vape Trade Association on 12 March 2018 to discuss United Kingdom vaping and regulations.

NHS: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of funding in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22, (d) 2022-23 and (e) 2023-24 for (i) the acute sector, (ii) primary care, (iii) cancer services, (iv) mental health services, (e) community services, (f) NHS IT and digital services, (g) maternity services, (h) medicines and pharmaceuticals, (j) mental health, (k) diabetes and (l) dementia services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Alongside publication of the NHS’s Long Term Plan, the Government has confirmed its final cash settlement for the National Health Service, which will see the NHS budget grow by £33.9 billion in cash terms by 2023-24, compared to 2018-19. This is equivalent to the £20.5 billion real terms increase set out last June and reiterated at Budget 2018. The following table confirms the NHS England resource budget in each year under this final settlement, which has been agreed with the NHS as the basis of its fully costed Plan. This excludes NHS England revenue budgets for depreciation and impairments, which will be handled separately. Furthermore, it excludes additional funding for NHS pension costs arising as a result of the ongoing revaluation of public sector pensions that the Treasury has made provision for, as outlined in June 2018 and at Budget 2018. NHS England Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (excluding depreciation)2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24Nominal budget (£ billion)114.60120.81127.01133.28139.99148.47 The Department does not hold the requested breakdown of funding into the service and sector categories listed. How the NHS budget set out above is spent will depend on the commissioning decisions of individual commissioner organisations.

Drugs: Storage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 206393 on Drugs, how many and what proportion of those contract agreements (a) have and (b) have not been signed off.

Stephen Hammond: As part of the Department’s ‘no deal’ European Union exit medicines supply contingency planning, a tender process to procure additional warehouse space to store stockpiled medicines within the mainland United Kingdom, including ambient, refrigerated and controlled drug storage, was undertaken in October 2018. Contract agreements for additional storage capacity have now been signed with three companies. There are no outstanding contracts still to be signed.

NHS: Expenditure

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent in each of the main categories of NHS commissioner spending as recorded by NHS England by (a) NHS England and (b) clinical commissioning groups in aggregate in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16, (iii) 2016-17 and (iv) 2017-18.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is attached.



PQ209790 attached tables
(Word Document, 16.08 KB)

NHS: Expenditure

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much is planned to be spent in each of the main categories of NHS commissioner spending as recorded by NHS England by (a) NHS England and (b) clinical commissioning groups in aggregate in 2018-19.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is attached.



PQ209791 attached table
(Word Document, 13.8 KB)

General Practitioners

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP practices in England are (a) a member and (b) not a member of a primary care network.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all GP practices in England and the primary care network they are a member of.

Steve Brine: The information is not held in the format requested and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dementia: Community Care

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £4.5 billion allocated to community care in five years' time as part of NHS England’s Long Term Plan is planned to be spent on provisions for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to have secured parity of esteem for dementia with cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke care, mental health and other conditions supported by NHS England’s Long Term Plan.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the enhanced health in care home model set out in NHS England's Long Term Plan will support people affected by dementia.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England Long Term Plan, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the use of the Electronic Frailty Index in a proactive population health approach focused on moderate frailty accounts for the needs of people living with dementia.

Caroline Dinenage: Dementia remains a key priority for the Government. Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Implementation Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the Long Term Plan will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system five-year plans, will be brought together in a detailed national implementation plan. We will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders, including the Alzheimer’s Society and other voluntary sector partners, as we support the National Health Service to deliver the commitments set out in the Long Term Plan.

Dementia

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to work with the wider NHS, the voluntary sector, developers and individuals to create a range of digital services to support people with (a) dementia and (b) similar specific conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: Dementia remains a key priority for the Government. We are committed to implementing the Challenge on Dementia 2020 national strategy in full and we consider actively how technology can support that. Digitally enabled primary and outpatient care is a key element of the NHS Long-Term Plan. Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Implementation Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the LTP will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system five-year plans, will be brought together in a detailed national implementation plan. We will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders, including the Alzheimer’s Society and other voluntary sector partners, as we support the National Health Service to deliver the commitments set out in the Long Term Plan.

NHS: Finance

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his oral contribution of 7 January 2019, Official Report column 80, when he plans to publish the local provision funding increases for the first year of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Stephen Hammond: NHS England set clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations. The National Health Service published draft five-year CCG allocations for 2019/20 to 2023/24 on 10 January 2019 at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/draft-ccg-allocations-2019-20-to-2023-24-core-services/ These are subject to final approval by the NHS England Board on 31 January 2019.

NHS: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January to Question 207241 on NHS: Fire Prevention, what the time frame is for the publication of the report on the construction types across the whole NHS Property Services portfolio of properties; and whether data on all combustible external wall materials found will be published.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Property Services currently manages around 10% of the National Health Service estate and while it has undertaken work to confirm construction types of buildings within its portfolio it was never the intention to produce a consolidated report for publication. The construction information collected was for NHS Property Services to better understand its buildings and manage any risks identified. Following the Grenfell tragedy in June 2017, NHS Improvement, acting on guidelines from the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government, instructed NHS Property Services to review its estate to identify buildings which may be at greater risk of fire due to the use of Aluminium Composite Materials specifically as cladding. NHS Property Services conducted a review of all premises in its portfolio using the guidelines and can confirm that no owned NHS Property Services buildings have aluminium cladding materials installed.

Opiates: Prescriptions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which 10 local authority areas had the highest rates of NHS opoid drug prescriptions in each of the last six years.

Steve Brine: The information is not available in the format requested.

Lyme Disease

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to (a) reduce the incidence of Lyme disease and (b) increase awareness of that disease.

Steve Brine: The GOV.UK and NHS websites provide information to the public on the recognition of Lyme disease, tick awareness and the prevention of tick bites. This is available at the following links: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx Public Health England (PHE) holds regular training days for general practitioners (GPs), and works with external organisations and charities to promote public awareness and training for GPs. PHE operates a tick surveillance system to identify tick distribution across England. PHE has been encouraging local authorities and park authorities to develop local public health material regarding tick risks and dealing with bites.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on reducing the health inequalities for people with a learning disability.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on ensuring that reasonable adjustments are made for people with a learning disability when using NHS services.

Caroline Dinenage: Annual general practitioner (GP) health checks are available to those patients on the GP learning disability register who are aged 14 years and over. Health checks and resulting action plans help to reduce recognised health inequalities as well as ensuring people’s reasonably adjusted care needs are communicated effectively to other National Health Service partners. The number of people who had an annual health check increased by 10% in 2017/18 compared with 2016/17, to 147,180. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to improve uptake of the existing annual health check so that at least 75% of those eligible have a health check each year. NHS Improvement has introduced Learning Disability Improvement Standards for NHS trusts in England to help ensure that trusts monitor and review the care they provide to people with a learning disability or autism. Inclusion of the improvement standards in the NHS Standard Contract 2019/20, mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners of all healthcare services except primary care, means that all providers must have regard to the improvement standards. NHS England and NHS Digital, in partnership with patient and carer groups and other key stakeholders are working to develop a national reasonable adjustment flag to indicate on electronic patient records, the reasonable adjustments which services can make to help people with learning disability access healthcare. We will shortly consult on introducing mandatory learning disability training, which would include training staff on how to make reasonable adjustments for people with a learning disability.

Learning Disability: Nurses

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on increasing  the number of specialist learning disability nurses in the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has put in place a range of measures to increase nursing workforce supply, including expanding numbers of nurse training places, introduced Nurse Degree and Nursing Associate apprentices. National programmes led by NHS Improvement and Health Education England focused on improving staff retention, return to practice, overseas recruitment and improving sickness absence. A targeted initiative for students, who commence loan funded postgraduate pre-registration nursing courses in the 2018/19 academic year, will see them eligible for a golden hello payment once they have graduated if they go on to work in learning disability, mental health or district nursing. Payments will be made to these graduates once they take up employment in the health and care sector in England. Working with the National Health Service and the university sector, the Government is finalising the most effective way to administer and introduce the scheme and will set out details in due course.

Social Services: Learning Disability

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of social care for people with a learning disability on the level of avoidable admissions to hospital of those people.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the merits of community-based social care and assessment and treatment units.

Caroline Dinenage: Since the investigation into the abuse at Winterbourne View and other hospitals, there has been a cross-Government commitment to transform care and support for people with a learning disability or autism who display behaviour that challenges, recognising that people with learning disability achieve better health outcomes living in community settings, receiving social care support and community health services, than as inpatients. In ‘Building the Right Support’, we have a plan to build community capacity to allow people to leave hospital (and prevent crisis and therefore admission) to ensure that people with a learning disability or autism are supported to live in the community. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to implementing the ‘Building the Right Support’ plan in full, achieving at least a 50% reduction in inpatients (compared to the figure in 2015) by the end of 2023/24 and ensuring that every local economy has specialist community provision.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the current time interval between initial screening and invitation for the next screening at Central and East London Breast Screening Service; and what that interval was in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: In April 2018, the Royal Free Hospital took over the service from Barts Health NHS Trust and administers call/recall services across all six London units, and provides screening for both Royal Free and Central London Breast Screening Service. From December 2013 to April 2016, the service, hosted by the previous service provider Barts Health NHS Trust, was in recovery with external management support. The NHS Breast Screening Programme minimum standard is that 90% of women should be re-invited within 36 months of their previous screen. The Central and East London Breast Screening Service currently has an agreed recovery plan to address the issues, which is monitored on a monthly basis and is on track to recover the time interval between initial screening and invitation for next screening (round-length) by September 2019. The round-length for Central and East London Breast Screening Service at the end of 2018 was 46.95% of eligible women being re-invited within 36 months of their previous screen. This is due to a lack of screening radiographers within the service, however, the Royal Free has an ongoing recruitment plan in place as part of its service recovery plan, and has successfully recruited the equivalent of two whole time equivalent screening radiographers. The Central and East London Breast Screening Service is currently inviting 3,000 women per month, which is the normal monthly invitation rate for the service for the past three years, and shows a significant increase on the figures for April 2018 where 1,100 women were invited. Public Heath England is supporting key stakeholders including Health Education England, the Royal College of Radiologists, and the Society and College of Radiographers to assist in workforce recruitment and retention of radiographers and radiologists. Over the last six years round-length has fluctuated within the service as shown in the following table. Year36 Month Round- length (% of women re-invited within 36 months)201430.94%201554.11%201696.89%201788.36%201846.95%

Wales Office

Bangor University: Chemistry

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January 2018 to Question 205241, what discussions he has had Bangor University on the proposed closure of its chemistry department; and if he will he make a statement.

Alun Cairns: I share your concern around the proposed closure of the Chemistry department at Bangor University and the impact this could have on Welsh language provision of undergraduate chemistry courses.The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales Nigel Adams MP has spoken with the Dean of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Bangor University on this issue, and I am planning a number of trips to Welsh universities over the coming months. The University has provided assurances that students currently studying at the university will be unaffected and we will raise concerns of future provision with the Vice Chancellors and the Welsh Government’s Education Minister.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.

Anne Milton: The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Children: Social Services

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many disabled children received social care in each of the last three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of children in need at the 31 March 2018 with a disability recorded is published in the annual ‘Characteristics of Children in need’ publication. The most recent publication is available on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2017-to-2018 and a table summarising the last three years is attached.



Number_of_children_in_need_with_a_disability
(PDF Document, 176.17 KB)

Children in Care

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the value for money of a child being taken into care; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: One of the key principles of the legislation which underpins the UK’s child protection system is that children are best looked after within their families, but that is not always possible. As a last resort, after other steps have failed, local authorities may apply to the independent courts for a decision about removing a child from his or her family – for the child’s safety.Local authorities are required to submit annual budget and outturn statements about their spending on children’s services, including spend on children looked after, to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State. This data is published at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data. We also publish information on the average weekly unit costs of looked after children, by local authority, in the Local Authority Interactive Tool. This can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait. These sources give information on both the aggregate and average costs to local authorities associated with supporting and accommodating looked after children. The cost of support and care placements varies across individual children. The impact on child welfare through, for example, a reduction in exposure to harm or potential harm will also vary across individual children and will be dependent on the context of the situation.

Apprentices

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to publish a long-term strategy for the apprenticeships sector.

Anne Milton: The longer-term direction and funding for the programme post-2020 will be considered as part of the 2019 Spending Review.We want to make sure that the apprenticeship levy continues to help develop the skilled workforce businesses need to grow. As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his budget speech in October, we are seeking views from a range of employers on the operation of the levy after 2020. As part of this work, we are holding a number of roundtables across the country with a cross-section of employers and training providers.

Teachers: Conditions of Employment

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made on reducing teacher workload.

Nick Gibb: The Department has taken action to tackle unnecessary teacher workload, and address burdensome tasks such as marking and lesson planning.The most recently published snapshot survey shows that 73% of teachers and head teachers report that their schools have reviewed or updated school policies to reduce workload, 67% had reduced or changed their approach to marking, and 49% had reduced or changed their approach to planning. Of those that had taken action on workload, 47% said unnecessary workload had been effectively reduced. The survey can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-snapshot-survey-winter-2017.Developed by head teachers, teachers and other sector experts, the workload reduction toolkit published in July 2018 provides accessible materials for teachers. These include practical advice, tools and case studies that head teachers, teachers and other staff can use to address workload issues in their school. To date materials have been collectively downloaded around 84,000 times. The toolkit can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workload-reduction-toolkit.The Workload Advisory Group, chaired by Professor Becky Allen, has looked at what unnecessary data and evidence schools are collecting, and what (and who) drives that behaviour. On 5 November 2018, the Government published the report from the Workload Advisory Group and their response accepting all the recommendations in full. This report can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-workload-advisory-group-report-and-government-response.The Department is continuing to collect and analyse evidence on what drives excessive workload and what works to reduce it, and has committed to a large scale workload survey which will run every 2 years, to improve the evidence base and inform policies.

Apprentices: Management

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department undertook an impact assessment of its recently approved reductions in funding bands for management apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) leads on the process of reviewing funding bands for existing standards and on consultation with the business community. The review announced in May 2018 included the Chartered Manager Degree apprenticeship, the Operations/Departmental Manager apprenticeship and the Team Leader/Supervisor apprenticeship.The IfA worked with employer trailblazer groups throughout the review process and discussed the management apprenticeship standards directly with business stakeholders. In addition, the department undertook its own analysis on the market impact to ensure that employers can continue to access high quality apprenticeships, and that funding bands represent good value for money for employers and government.

Schools: Literacy

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of English Hub schools having at least one member of staff who has received specialist speech, language and communication training.

Nick Gibb: Each of our 32 English Hubs will deploy 5 practising teachers as literacy specialists, to deliver early language and reading teaching support to local schools. These teachers will not be required to hold specific qualifications in special educational needs and disability (SEND), but they will be trained to support all children to learn to read. Literacy specialists will also have access to the wide range of support available to all teachers. Since 2010, the Department has invested heavily in the development of resources and training to ensure that teachers are equipped to support pupils with specific types of SEND, including speech, language and communication needs. To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must satisfy the teachers’ standards which include a requirement that they have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND, and are able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them. In addition, the Whole School SEND consortium, funded by the Department, has appointed new SEND regional leads who are bringing together practitioners and networks to build a community of practice, to help identify school improvement priorities and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Special Educational Needs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 206295 on Special Educational Needs, what proportion of the 0-25 year old population do those figures represent for each local authority.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department do not publish figures as a proportion of the 0-25 population. Population estimates at a local authority level are published by the Office for National Statistics, available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support the improvement of local authority-run services for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Children and Families Act (2014) introduced a range of additional duties for local authorities in relation to services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We have invested heavily in training and support for local authorities to take on their new responsibilities and improve their services. This includes funding training and resources on education, health and care planning; leadership skills; joint commissioning of services; and effectively engaging with children, young people and their families to deliver a service that meets their needs. We are also working with IPSEA (Independent Parental Special Education Advice) to deliver legal training for local authorities on the implications of the SEND reforms, and are funding peer support via a network of local authority regional coordinators.High needs funding has risen by £1 billion since 2013, to just under £6 billion this year and on 17 December 2018, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced additional high needs funding for local authorities of £125 million in 2018-19 and £125 million in 2019-20 to help local councils manage the increasing costs of provision for children and young people with SEND. He also announced a further £100 million top-up to the special provision capital fund for in 2019-20, to take the total investment to £365 million across 2018 to 2021. This will help local authorities invest in improved facilities and additional school and college places for children and young people with SEND.Since May 2016, we have been funding Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to inspect local areas (the local authority and relevant commissioning health bodies) on how they are fulfilling their duties for children and young people with SEND. All 152 areas will be inspected over 5 years and where weaknesses are identified by the inspectors, areas are being supported by the Department for Education and NHS England regional SEND advisers to develop and implement an improvement plan known as a written statement of action (WSOA). Inspections are identifying a wide range of strengths, as well as areas for improvements and are acting as a real driver for change. Revisits by Ofsted and the CQC to those areas with a WSOA are helping to ensure than momentum is maintained.

Children in Care

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to table A2 of the statistical release Information on looked after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2016-17, how many of the 8,830 looked-after children who were cared for in a friends and family foster placement on 31 March 2017 had also been in (a) an unrelated foster placement, (b) another family and friends care placement, (c) a children's home and (d) other provision for looked-after children.

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to table A2 of the statistical release Information on looked-after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2017-18, how many of the 9,720 looked-after children who were cared for in a friends and family foster placement on 31 March 2018 had also been in (a) an unrelated foster placement, (b) another family and friends care placement, (c) a children's home and (d) other provision for looked-after children.

Nadhim Zahawi: For the years ending 31 March 2017 and 2018, the number of looked after children in a foster placement with friends or family who have also been in a foster placement; not with friends or family, a children’s home placement, or any other type of placement in the same period of care is shown in the table attached.



The_number_of_looked_after_children
(PDF Document, 8.43 KB)

Special Educational Needs: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) initial and (b) additional allocated budgets for special needs provision in Nottinghamshire schools have been in each of the past three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are legally required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, up to £6,000. Local authorities must set a notional SEN budget for every school in their area as part of their local schools formula, funded from the overall schools budget, although this funding is not ring-fenced and it remains the responsibility of each school to manage its overall budget, and ensure that the needs of all its pupils are being met.When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. On 17 December 2018, we announced an addition of £250 million in high needs funding across the current financial year and the next, on top of the additional funding we had already promised. As a result, Nottinghamshire will receive an additional £1.7 million of this funding in each year, bringing their high needs funding total to £66.5 million in 2019-20.The figures for the last three years are illustrated below. YearSchools Funding AmountHigh Needs Funding Amount2016-17£447.8 million£57.3 million2017-18£459.4 million£59.8 million2018-19£469.1 million£64.0 million

Special Educational Needs: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of pupils in Nottinghamshire with individual education, health and care plans whose schools have yet to receive the additional funding needed for their implementation; and how long on average schools have waited to receive that funding in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are legally required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable them to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, by up to £6,000, in their base budgets.When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. Whilst many pupils who are in receipt of this top-up funding do have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, it is not a requirement for them to have one; nor is there a requirement that every pupil with an EHC plan should receive top-up funding. The allocation of this top-up funding is a matter between the local authority and the school, and the department does not collect information on when schools are allocated funding by local authorities.

Special Educational Needs

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how long on average it has taken for an education, health and care plan for a special needs child to be put in place from the date of initial request for assessment for such a plan in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education does not hold information on the average length of time it takes for an education, health and care (EHC) plan to be put in place from the date of initial request for assessment. Of the new EHC plans made during the 2017 calendar year (excluding cases where exceptions apply), 64.9% were issued within the 20-week time limit, an increase from 58.6% in 2016. When including cases where exceptions apply, 61.3% were issued within the 20-week time limit, an increase from 55.7% in 2016. More information on can be found in ‘Statements of special educational needs and EHC plans: England, 2018’https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018.

Special Educational Needs: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many education, health and care plans are in place in Nottinghamshire schools; and how many were in place in each of the two previous academic years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department publishes the number and proportion of pupils with special educational needs, including the type of need, in the annual ‘Special educational needs in England’ statistical release:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2018. The number of pupils with a statement or education, health and care plan, based on where the child attends school by local authority, can be found in a time series in the 'Special educational needs in England – January 2018: local authority tables, table 12'.

Schools: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) teaching assistants and (b) specialist support staff (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools have employed in Nottinghamshire in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number[1] of teaching assistants and support staff in service in state funded primary[2] and secondary schools in Nottinghamshire local authority and England in November 2015, 2016 and 2017.Teaching Assistants NottinghamshireEngland PrimarySecondaryPrimarySecondary20172,420710176,24047,79020162,390700177,69050,12020152,320760174,53052,270 Support Staff NottinghamshireEngland PrimarySecondaryPrimarySecondary20177101,06060,62072,00020166901,12060,46073,89020156601,08059,43074,780 Auxiliary Staff NottinghamshireEngland PrimarySecondaryPrimarySecondary201764037045,54025,110201663037045,51025,740201560036045,71026,390Source: School Workforce Census[1] Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 staff.[2] Includes nursery schools.

Children in Care

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the causes of the recent increase in the number of looked after children in England.

Nadhim Zahawi: At 31 March 2018, there were 75,420 looked-after children in England, 4% up on the previous year, following a small fall in the number entering care, but also a decrease in the number leaving.When a child is assessed by children’s services, their primary need is recorded. 47,530 children were identified as having a primary need of ‘abuse or neglect’ - the most common reason identified. 11,270 were in need due to ‘family dysfunction’ and 5,980 were due to the ‘family being in acute stress’. 4,860 were identified as in need due to ‘absent parenting’, almost all of whom are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. These have been the four highest categories each year since 2014 and have each individually seen an upward trend.This data is available in the report ‘Children looked after in England including adoption in 2017 to 2018’ and in Table A1 of the accompanying supporting data at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.

Department for Education: Brexit

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in his Department work full-time on policy relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Anne Milton: The Cabinet Office and the Department for Exiting the European Union are coordinating planning across government for EU Exit. Members of staff across the Department for Education work on EU Exit issues, across a range of policy areas as required.In addition to a central coordinating team, EU Exit work is embedded and prioritised as necessary across the department’s policy responsibilities. It is therefore not possible to give an accurate figure specifically for work on EU Exit issues.

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria are used to determine the sponsor of a school that is subject to an academy order.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Regional Schools Commissioner’s (RSC) role in intervention is to ensure that a school that is subject to an academy order is matched with an academy trust that can support it to improve.RSCs approve sponsors based upon the published criteria for applicants. The criteria are set out on the sponsor application form, which can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-sponsor-application-form.They include the sponsor’s overall visions and plans for growth, educational and financial capacity, and governance. When matching a sponsor to a school that is subject to an academy order, the RSC will also consider a range of other information, such as the sponsor’s geography in relation to the school, the sponsor’s skillsets, capacity, specialist expertise and track record. This will ensure that the sponsor is a good match for the school.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether EU students starting courses in England in the 2019-20 academic year will be eligible for home fee status in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Chris Skidmore: The department is aware that students, staff and providers are concerned about what EU Exit means for study and collaboration opportunities. To help give certainty, in July 2018, the department announced guarantees on student finance for EU nationals.These guarantees are not altered if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. EU nationals (and their family members) who start a course in England in the 2019/20 academic year or before, will continue to be eligible for ‘home fee’ status and student finance support from Student Finance England for the duration of their course, provided they meet the residency requirement.

Frontline

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Frontline in improving retention rates among children’s social workers.

Nadhim Zahawi: Frontline participants are more likely to enter child and family social work than those qualifying through university based social work courses. Frontline select these high performing graduates for their aptitude to perform challenging child protection social work roles, and for their leadership potential. The first cohort of Frontline participants completed the programme in 2016. We have commissioned an independent evaluation of Frontline to assess long-term impacts.[1][2] [1] Frontline Impact report 2018, p9: “87% of Frontline participants remain in children’s social work 6 months after completing the programme.”https://thefrontline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Frontline-Impact-Report-2018.pdf. [2] Skills for Care analysis of Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data, social work education 2018, p2: “Around 74% of qualifiers in 2016/17 were employed as social workers within six months of graduation.”https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/NMDS-SC-intelligence/Workforce-intelligence/documents/Social-Work-Education-in-England.pdf.

Ministry of Justice

Fines: Surcharges

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value is of uncollected victims surcharges in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The figures shown in the table below are cumulative amounts outstanding at the end of each year. Receipts received in relation to an imposition is applied to the defendant’s account using a strict statutory hierarchy which ensures that any compensation owed by the defendant is cleared before any other element such as victim surcharge. There are a number of other reasons why the amounts can remain outstanding for a long period of time, such as; agreed instalment plans; defendant cannot be traced; changes in the defendant’ disposable income circumstances and; the defendant serving a prison sentence and no longer having any income.” Year ended 31st March 201864,475,000201750,657,000201636,112,000201529,381,000201421,110,000201312,084,000201210,121,000201110,488,00020108,516,000

Prisons: Staff

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff have been deployed as part of the 10 Prisons Programme from other areas of the prison estate; and if he will list those numbers of staff by prison they have been deployed from.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Prisons: Finance

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the criteria were for selecting the 10 prisons to be included in the 10 Prison Programme.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will (a) list the prisons that were considered for but not included in the 10 Prisons Programme and (b) set out the reasons why those prisons were not included.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria his Department used to select the prisons included in the 10 Prison Programme.

Rory Stewart: When establishing the 10 Prisons Project, we identified a group that were representative of the range of challenges currently facing the estate, including drugs, violence, and building issues. We focused on a small number of regions - London, Yorkshire and the North Midlands - to facilitate partnership working within the project and to limit any potential displacement whereby controlling drugs in one prison would simply move the problem to a neighbouring prison. We identified prisons in both urban and rural areas, with cohorts of young adult or adult male offenders, that are facing some of the most significant challenges across the estate. While all prisons were considered for the project, we included those that gave the best balance of these criteria. All the prisons selected have three times more assaults now than in 2012;Eight of them have regularly had higher numbers of assaults than similar prisons through the first half of the year;Five of them are among the worst for positive drug tests for psychoactive substances;One has received an Urgent Notification from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons;Two are in special measures;Four are over a hundred years old; andThree received the lowest mark possible for safety in their latest Inspection reports.

Secure Accommodation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of segregation have occurred at each secure institution that holds children in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of segregation have occurred at each secure institution that holds children by each ethnic group in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Edward Argar: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) do not hold the specific information requested centrally but are currently reviewing how segregation data is collected across each establishment in the Youth Estate. However, in answering PQ 141024, we did provide a breakdown of the total number of hours young people spent in segregation in each Young Offender Institution, where data is available, over the last 5 years. The safety and welfare of young people in our care is the core priority of the Youth Custody Service, There are some occasions when it is necessary to remove children from association because their behaviour is likely to be so disruptive that keeping them on ordinary location would be unsafe, or because their own safety and wellbeing cannot reasonably be assured by other means. We are clear removal from association must only be used under specified safeguards and regular review, where children are putting themselves and others at risk. As far as possible, children removed from association have access to a regime that is comparable to the normal regime including entitlements to social and legal visits, religious services, access to the phone, education, showers and exercise in the open air and where possible, in association with other removed children. Throughout removal, the child will continue to have regular contact with staff.

Prisons: Smuggling

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has commissioned on the routes which are used to bring contraband into prisons.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Forensic Science: Misconduct

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Civil and Family Courts Service is taking to identify cases where decisions were taken on the basis of forensic testing provided by (a) Randox and (b) Trimega.

Lucy Frazer: Greater Manchester Police are undertaking an ongoing, expansive criminal investigation into alleged manipulation of toxicology results now by three individuals who were employed at Trimega, and later Randox Testing Services (RTS) after Trimega’s liquidation in 2014, and this matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness. As the police are now treating all results obtained by Trimega between 2010 and 2014 as unreliable, and because Trimega provided toxicology testing for civil and family court cases, it is possible that some civil cases may have been affected by manipulation, though this remains undetermined as the investigation is ongoing.

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what post-legislative scrutiny of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 the Government has undertaken; and when he plans to review Section 21 of that Act.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Justice: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff at (a) HM Inspectorate of Prisons, (b) HM Inspectorate of Probation, (c) HM Prison Service, (d) HM Prison and Probation Service and (e) Prison Service Pay Review body that work (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Justice: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff at (a) HM Inspectorate of Prisons, (b) HM Inspectorate of Probation, (c) HM Prison Service, (d) HM Prison and Probation Service and (e) Prison Service Pay Review body that work (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Courts: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of courts that require repair work.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Secure Accommodation: Restraint Techniques

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) has been used in each secure institution which uses it in each year for which information is available by reason for the use of MMPR.

Edward Argar: The information requested is provided in the attached table. MMPR has been implemented in all Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres since summer 2017. It is specifically developed for use by staff working with young people in custody, to avoid physical restraint as far as possible by using a range of de-escalation, diversion and behaviour management techniques to help deal with issues effectively and appropriately. The safety and wellbeing of all children in our care is our top priority which is why we are reforming youth custody to reduce violence and improve outcomes for children and young people.



209818 - MMPR by reason and establishment
(Excel SpreadSheet, 15.51 KB)

Secure Accommodation: Self-harm

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of self-harm have been recorded in relation to children in each secure institution that holds children during each of the last five years for which information is available.

Edward Argar: The information requested is provided in the attached table. The safety of children in custody is our top priority. That is why we are reforming youth custody, to reduce violence and improve outcomes for children and young people. This includes rolling out the Custody Support Plan (CuSP), to provide each young person with a personal officer to work with in order to build trust and consistency. We are also introducing a new Youth Justice Specialist role and providing funding for every Prison Officer in the Youth Custody Service to undertake a youth justice qualification. Over 300 frontline staff are currently enrolled on this qualification. In addition, we are expanding frontline staff capacity in public-sector Young Offender Institutions by 20%, and our figures show that, at the end of September 2018, the Youth Custody Service had 239 more frontline officers than at the same time the previous year.



PQ 209820 Self Harm
(Excel SpreadSheet, 14.29 KB)

Secure Accommodation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was that a child spent in the segregation unit in each secure institution that holds children in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest length of time was that a child spent in the segregation unit in each secure institution that holds children in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Edward Argar: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) do not hold the specific information requested centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually searching through individual records and logs. HMPPS are, however, in the process of reviewing how segregation data is collected across each establishment in the Youth Estate.

Prison Sentences

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average length of prison sentences in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last six years.

Rory Stewart: Information on average custodial sentence length (ACSL) in both England and Wales over the last six years can be viewed in the table.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.16 KB)

Treasury

Customs: ICT

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2018 to Question 203920 on Customs, what completion dates have been set for the contracts for the (a) development and (b) upgrade of IT systems in relation to customs declarations at British ports.

Mel Stride: The primary customs declaration platforms in place when the UK leaves the EU will be a combination of CHIEF, which is the existing declaration system; and the new Customs Declaration Service (CDS). The development of the new CDS service, and the upgrade of the existing CHIEF service, are being delivered through a combination of in-house technical expertise within HMRC and contracts with commercial partners. The changes required for a no deal scenario will be delivered in March 2019.

Revenue and Customs: Blockchain

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2018 to Question 185078 on Revenue and Customs: Blockchain, what assessment he has made of the (a)  time and (b) cost resources required to be allocated by HMRC to produce blockchain solutions to facilitate (a) Authorised Economic Operator status, (b) Rules of Origin certification, (c) the Single Administrative Document and (d) standard import and export declarations.

Mel Stride: Further work on the application of Blockchain to ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ status is deferred until after the UK leaves the EU when timescales and cost will be revisited. There has been no specific assessment of Rules of Origin certification, Single Administrative Documents or standard Import and Export Declarations.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of Blockchain technology on tackling the illegal traffic of goods across the border between (a) Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and (b) Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: The Government has been resolute in its commitments to Northern Ireland. This includes protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its parts and ensuring there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, or between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. The Government will continue to consider the potential applications of technology, including Distributed Ledger (Blockchain), and other emerging technologies, to streamline customs processes.

Bill Dodwell

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's press release entitled The Chancellor and the Office of Tax Simplification announce Bill Dodwell as new Tax Director, published on gov.uk on 10 January 2019, whether the newly appointed Tax Director of the Office of Tax Simplification was approached about the role while he was still under contract with Deloitte.

Mel Stride: The Chancellor of the Exchequer was pleased to appoint Bill Dodwell as Tax Director of the OTS, with effect from 14th January 2019. The OTS will continue to offer valuable advice on simplifying the tax system under his leadership. The contract in question was a short-term consultancy agreement which was terminated on Monday 7th January 2018.

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Karin Smyth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HMRC plans to reach an agreement with the Roadchef Employee Benefit Trust on outstanding tax issues.

Mel Stride: The administration of the tax system, including where appropriate the repayment of tax or duties, is a matter for HMRC. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to become involved in the administration of the tax system in specific cases.

Railways: Broadband

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the levels of public spending required to provide a good standard of mobile connectivity to all rail passengers throughout the UK.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Department for Transport and (b) Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ahead of the 2019 Spending Review on the level of public funding required to provide (i) 4G mobile connectivity and (ii) Wi-Fi services to all rail passengers throughout the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: The government remains committed to improving rail passenger connectivity throughout the UK. The Treasury has regular discussions with government departments on public spending across all policy areas – including rail passenger connectivity. Future spending decisions are a matter for the Spending Review.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Travel

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.

Jake Berry: The table below sets out the expenditure on taxis, first class train and business class air travel for the period 2017/2018.The information for taxis has been draw from the Department’s internal finance system whilst train and air is recorded via Redfern Travel Management.Expenditure to the nearest £thousandTaxi:27Business Class Air Travel:80First Class Train Tickets:1I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 121019 on 17 January 2018 for the remainder of the information

Housing: Mobility

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help people with mobility issues to find properties that meet their needs.

Kit Malthouse: Government policy, as put in place by my Department, provides a clear and robust framework to support the delivery of accessible housing in England. My Department has strengthened national planning policy so that local planning authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people and local planning authorities can require higher access standards for new homes where this is justified. Two optional standards were introduced in Part M of the Building Regulations in October 2015 – higher standards for accessible and adaptable housing and wheelchair accessible homes.Through the Localism Act 2011 we have retained the statutory reasonable preference requirements which ensure that people with disabilities are given priority for social housing. We grant fund new supply of supported housing for vulnerable people, which can include those with mobility issues. In addition, in England, Disabled Facilities Grant funding to local authorities can contribute towards meeting the cost of adapting a person’s home, including for people with mobility challenges - since 2015 funding for the grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015/16 to £505 million in 2019/20.

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to families affected by domestic abuse.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime that nobody should have to suffer. The Government is absolutely committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse and their families.This is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.Since 2014 my Department has invested £33.5 million in accommodation-based services, including refuges. On 10 November 2018 we announced the allocation of a further £22 million fund to support victims of domestic abuse over 2018-2020. The fund will support 63 projects covering 254 local areas across England and will provide support to over 25,000 victims and their families, and more than 2,200 additional bed spaces in accommodation-based services, including refuges. Full details of the fund can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/22-million-for-projects-to-support-domestic-abuse-survivors.Additionally, since 2015 we have provided over £1 million to Women’s Aid for two projects, Routes to Support and No Woman Turned Away. Routes to Support (formerly UK Refuges Online) is part-funded by the Government and is a UK-wide online database containing information about domestic abuse and other violence against women services, including refuge. No Woman Turned Away provides additional caseworker support to women facing difficulties in accessing refuge, including victims with children. We are continuing to fund these vital projects to 2020.My Department has carried out a review of how domestic abuse services are locally commissioned and funded across England. The Review has been informed by an audit, run by Ipsos MORI, of provision of domestic abuse services across England, which enables us to understand what impact services are having and to identify any gaps. We are working with the Domestic Abuse Sector and Local Authorities, drawing on their expertise and data, to develop future, sustainable delivery options for Domestic Abuse Services.

Local Government

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues in Cabinet meetings on the effect on local authorities of the UK leaving the EU.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 21 January 2019



I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues including the effect on local authorities of the UK leaving the EU.I continue to chair the EU Exit Local Government Delivery Board which is attended by both Government Ministers and Local Government representatives. This Delivery Board provides a forum for national and local government representatives to discuss the preparedness of councils for the UK’s exit from the EU.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the levels of penalties charged by private parking operators.

Rishi Sunak: In order to access Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data, parking operators must belong to one of two trade bodies, the British Parking Association (BPA) or the International Parking Community (IPC). Both the BPA and the IPC cap the maximum penalty a private parking operator can apply at £100, with a mandatory 40 per cent reduction if payment is received within two weeks of a Parking Charge Notice being issued.The Government supports Sir Greg Knights’ Parking (Code of Practice) Bill, which seeks to create a single code of practice for the parking industry. Should the Bill pass, there will be an opportunity to consider obligations on private parking operators, including the maximum level of penalty they can charge.

Hotels: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether desktop studies can still be used  in lieu of tests as a route to compliance for combustible materials on high-rise hotels.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether desktop studies can still be used in lieu of tests as a route to compliance for combustible materials on high-rise offices.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether systems incorporating combustible materials are still able be approved for use by desktop studies.

Kit Malthouse: Such assessments are no longer acceptable for buildings subject to the ban on combustible materials in external walls in regulation 7(3) of the Building Regulations. For buildings outside the scope of the ban such as hotels and offices, the current requirements for limited combustibility or for the whole wall system to have passed a BS 8414 test apply.A new standard for assessments relating to the BS 8414 cladding test is currently being drafted.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Apprentices

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Ministry of Defence apprentices there have been in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Army in each constituency in each year since 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently the single largest deliverer of apprenticeships in the UK, with over 20,000 personnel engaged on a nationally recognised apprenticeship programme at any one time and over 90 per cent of our non-commissioned military recruits offered an apprenticeship on the back of their trade training. As at 31 October 2018, the number of apprenticeship enrolments since 2015 for the Armed Forces are as follows: Royal Navy: 9,136 Army: 30,321 Royal Air Force: 5,852 The MOD has made good progress in meeting its Government target of 50,000 enrolments by 2020. The MOD does not currently hold the information in the requested format.

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Prime Minister’s Office file PREM 19/3076, whether the UK is legally obliged to supply Saudi Arabia with aircraft parts under the Al Yamamah arms deal.

Stuart Andrew: The Al Yamamah programme concluded at the end of 2006 and HMG commitments under that agreement have been completed. Follow on in-service support for the Tornado and Hawk fleets is now undertaken through the Saudi British Defence Cooperation Programme.

Defence Equipment: Finance

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the in-year spending for the programmes listed in the Defence Equipment Plan 2017 as (a) Ajax, (b) Apache CSP, (c) Astute Boats 4-7, (d) Brimstone 2 Integration, (e) Brimstone CSP, (f) BVRAAM on Lightning II, (g) FASGW(H)/Sea Venom, (h) FASGW(L)/Martlet, (i) Sea Ceptor Type 23, (j) Sea Ceptor Type 26, (k) Spear Cap 3, (l) SRAAM Sustainment (MG1), (m) SRAAM Sustainment (MG2), (n) Core Production Capability, (o) Dreadnought, (p) Lightning II, (q) Marshall, (r) New Style of IT (Deployed), (s) P-8A Poseidon, (t) Protector, (u) QE Carriers, (v) Sky Sabre, (w) Tide-class Tanker, (x) Type 26 Frigate, (y) Meteor Integration (Typhoon), (z) Meteor Integration (Typhoon), (i) Brimstone 2 Integration (Typhoon) and (ii) Warrior CSP; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the in-year spending for the programmes listed in the Defence Equipment Plan 2018 as (a) Ajax, (b) Apache CSP, (c) Brimstone CSP, (d) BVRAAM on Lightning II, (e) FASGW(H)/Sea Venom, (f) FASGW(L)/Martlet, (g) Sea Ceptor Type 23, (h) Sea Ceptor Type 26, (i) Spear Cap 3, (j) ASRAAM Sustainment (MG1), (k) ASRAAM Sustainment (MG2), (l) Lightning II, (m) Marshall, (n) P-8A Poseidon, (o) Protector, (p) QE Carriers, (q) Sky Sabre, (r) Tide-class Tanker, (s) Type 26 Frigate, (t) Meteor Integration (Typhoon), (u) Meteor Integration (Typhoon), (v) Brimstone 2 Integration (Typhoon), (w) Warrior CSP (x) Dreadnought  (y) Astute Boats 4-7 (z) Core Production Capability; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: Expenditure for the Demonstration and Manufacture phases for each of the listed projects (rounded to the nearest million) is detailed below. The information includes data for the Equipment Plan 2017. Spend data for the current financial year (FY), which relates to Equipment Plan 2018, is excluded as this is incomplete.   Project nameFY 2017-18 (£ million)AJAX (formerly Scout Specialist Vehicle)377Apache Capability Sustainment Programme30Brimstone Capability Sustainment Programme58BVRAAM on Lightning II17Brimstone II integration0Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy)39Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Light)25Sea Ceptor on Type 23 Frigate60Sea Ceptor on Type 26 Frigate8Spear Capability 388ASRAAM Sustainment – MG1 & MG255Lightning II521Marshall45Tide Class Tanker49Protector54P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft57Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers317Sky Sabre (formerly GBAD)125Type 26 Global Combat Ship378Brimstone Integration onto Typhoon65Stormshadow Integration on Typhoon25Typhoon Meteor Integration Project9Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme62Astute 4-7509Core production capacity190Dreadnought1,218New Style of IT (Deployed)39

Poland: War Graves

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to honour and commemorate the 30 British soldiers who died in Germany in 1921 and 1922 while implementing conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and who lie in unmarked graves in Opole in Poland by asking the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to undertake the marking of their graves.

Mark Lancaster: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is established to commemorate those members of the Commonwealth forces who lost their lives between 4 August 1914 and 31 August 1921, and between 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947. The CWGC remit does not extend beyond those dates.

Defence: Space

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the strength of the UK space defence sector.

Stuart Andrew: The UK Space Agency regularly monitor the progress of the sector and Ministers and officials regularly engage with representatives of the industry. The space sector has grown at an average of over 8% per year over the last decade and three times faster than the average sector over the last five years.  The UK is a world-leader in small satellite technology, telecommunications, robotics and earth observation, while British universities are some of the best in the world for space science.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has to amend the Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018 after the conclusion of the 2019 test pilot.

Alok Sharma: On 14 January 2019, we withdrew the draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018, and laid two new sets of regulations. The draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 will allow the Department to begin the managed migration pilot phase. This pilot phase is to ensure that our systems and processes are working well. We have committed to reporting on our findings from the pilot before bringing forward legislation to continue with managed migration. The regulations for the pilot phase are subject to Parliamentary approval and will be debated and voted on in due course.

Universal Credit

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Autumn Budget 2018, whether the Department has plans to bring forward the two week run-on of legacy benefits for the universal credit managed migration pilot.

Alok Sharma: In the 2018 Autumn Budget, we committed to allowing DWP income-related legacy benefits to continue for two-weeks after a claim has been made to Universal Credit from July 2020. This measure will give around 1.1 million households a one-off gain of approximately £200 between 2020/21 and 2023/24. The Department has committed to supporting all claimants who are moved on to Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process. The draft regulations, currently before Parliament, will deliver on our commitment to provide transitional protection to those who are managed migrated onto Universal Credit without a change in their circumstances. The Department already offers a range of support to claimants who migrate to Universal Credit, such as advances worth up to 100 per cent of their indicative award. Claimants may also be eligible for the two-week Universal Credit Transitional Housing Payment. The Department will be introducing a Discretionary Hardship Payment to support those claimants who will be managed migrated as part of the pilot phase. The power for Discretionary Hardship Payments is broad and could be used to pay the equivalent of the two-week legacy run on to the 10,000 claimants who will be moved to Universal Credit as part of the piloting phase and who are in hardship on account of the absence of the run on. We will also have the discretion to make payments if any other issues related to managed migration have resulted in hardship.

Carer's Allowance: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of applications for carer's allowance by individuals whose dependent has no recourse to public funds which have not been approved in (a) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham and (c) London in each year of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: One of the eligibility conditions for Carer’s Allowance is that the disabled person being cared for is receiving a qualifying disability benefit. A list of qualifying disability benefits can be found on https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility. If the person being cared for is not getting one of the qualifying disability benefits because they have no recourse to public funds, then Carer’s Allowance would not be payable. We do not hold administrative data where we could identify that a Carer’s Allowance application has been unsuccessful for this reason.

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the reasons given for non-attendance by sanctioned claimants of (a) jobseekers allowance and (b) employment support allowance in (i) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Lewisham and (iii) London in each of the last five years.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not centrally collate this information on the reasons given for non-attendance by sanctioned claimants within its statistical datasets. Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. We take a number of steps to make sure our decisions are fair. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

Department for Work and Pensions: Disclosure of Information

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2018.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2017.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2016.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2015.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2014.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2013.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2012.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2011.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2010.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2009.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2008.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2007.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2006.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department entered into in 2005.

Justin Tomlinson: On 1st February 2015 guidance was implemented by the Cabinet Office explaining the principles and process to be followed when considering the use of settlement agreements when terminating employment resulting in the requirement to seek Ministerial approval. DWP would use confidentiality clauses only with great exception and after obtaining appropriate approval. We have no record of DWP ever having requested, let alone received, such approval. During the period 2005 to February 2015 records covering the use of any such agreements are not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason under universal credit (a) statutory maternity pay is classed as earnings and subject to partial disregard and (b) maternity allowance is classed as income with the full payment taken into account.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit is a means tested system of support and where claimants have income available to meet their everyday living costs, such as maternity allowance, it is right that their entitlement to UC is adjusted accordingly (as currently is the case with other DWP legacy means tested working age benefits). Statutory maternity pay is paid by an employer and is a form of earnings. As a result, statutory maternity pay is therefore subject to the work allowance and tapering within Universal Credit, as are other earnings.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2019 to Question 207294 on Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on how EU Nationals' access to social security will be maintained for those awaiting the outcome of their application to the EU settlement scheme.

Alok Sharma: The UK Government has reached an agreement with the EU guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.The Government has already made public its plans for protecting the rights of EU citizens. This will be done through the EU settlement scheme, published on 21 June 2018 and available at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/718237/EU_Settlement

Pension Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 January 2019, HCWS1249, on pensions update, what estimate she has made of the number of people who will be affected by changes to pension credit in each local authority.

Guy Opperman: The Welfare Reform Act 2012 amended the entitlement conditions for Pension Credit so as to require both members of a couple to have reached the qualifying age for Pension Credit before the couple can be entitled to it. The change will not affect mixed age couples who are entitled to Pension Credit and/or pension age Housing Benefit immediately before the implementation date, unless their entitlement to both those benefits subsequently ends. The number of mixed age couples that are estimated to be affected by the change in the future is not available at local authority level.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of air pollution on the (a) short-term and (b) long-term of (i) public health and (ii) the level of non-communicable disease mortality.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Long-term exposure to air pollution reduces life expectancy by increasing deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and from lung cancer. Short term peaks in air pollution are also associated with a range of adverse health effects including exacerbation of asthma, effects on lung function as well as increases in daily mortality and hospital admissions (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comeap-quantification-of-mortality-and-hospital-admissions-associated-with-ground-level-ozone). Defra’s Daily Air Quality Index (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/daqi) assists in understanding air pollution levels and suggests recommended actions and health advice. Such advice applies to anyone experiencing symptoms. The latest report from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP), an expert committee of the Department of Health and Social Care, estimated that long-term exposure to man-made pollution in the UK has an annual effect equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nitrogen-dioxide-effects-on-mortality). COMEAP has recently provided advice on the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular disease (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-mechanistic-evidence) and is currently assessing the evidence in relation to cognitive decline. Public Health England (PHE) has also estimated the fraction of adult mortality attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution at local authority level (https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework). PHE have undertaken research (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-a-tool-to-estimate-healthcare-costs) to quantify the effect of air pollution on the incidence of disease and, therefore, the costs to health and social care services. These modelled data shows that reducing the concentration of PM2.5 by 1 µg/m3 in England in a single year can prevent around 50,000 cases of coronary heart disease, 15,000 strokes, 9,000 cases of asthma and 4,000 lung cancers over the following 18 years.

Air Pollution

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of air pollution in (a) the UK, (b) London and (c) Lewisham West & Penge constituency.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the level of air pollution in (a) the UK (b) London and (c) Lewisham West & Penge constituency.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Air pollution is reducing in the UK, as set out in the annual National Statistics report at the following URL:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics There are 170 national monitoring stations in the UK, of which 16 stations are in London and 1 in Lewisham West and Penge constituency. Near real-time measurements from these sites and further data tools can be found on the UK-AIR website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/). In July 2017 we published the UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, setting out how we will achieve compliance in the shortest possible time, supported by a £3.5 billion investment in air quality and cleaner transport. On 14 January 2019 we announced our world leading Clean Air Strategy. The Strategy focuses on the five most damaging air pollutants: ammonia, fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and includes new and ambitious goals, legislation, investment and policies which will help us to clean up our air faster and more effectively. Measurements at stations in London on the national monitoring network show a general long-term reduction in air pollution. The London Boroughs also carry out local air quality monitoring as part of the Local Air Quality Management process and produce annual reports on the status of air quality within the Borough area. The Mayor is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to reflect this. These powers enable the Mayor to take a broad range of actions, particularly in relation to transport.

Air Pollution

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department provides to local authorities to improve air quality.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local authorities already have responsibilities and many powers to monitor and reduce air pollution. Local authorities have been able to apply for grants from the Clean Air Fund. Recognising that there are still local authorities which are in breach of statutory limits on roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations, the UK government allocated £495 million of funding to support local authorities in its 2017 plan. This is part of the £3.5 billion investment into air quality and cleaner transport which has supported local authorities, including in London.

Air Pollution: Children

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of of the potential merits of introducing traffic exclusion zones near (a) schools, (b) nurseries and (c) playgrounds to help reduce children’s exposure to exhaust fumes.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local authorities and the Mayor for London already have powers regarding traffic and roads. Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve mean that they are better able to know the issues on ground in detail, and the solutions that may be necessary or appropriate to the locality. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs sets out the national policy framework for tackling harmful air pollution.

Air Pollution

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing targets for the reduction of air pollution.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As set out in our Clean Air Strategy, we will set an ambitious, long-term target to reduce people’s exposure to particulate matter (PM), which the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as the most damaging pollutant. To inform development of this new target, the government will publish evidence early this year on what action would be needed to meet WHO guidelines.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legal Opinion

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.

George Eustice: The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff at the (a) Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, (b) Animal and Plant Health Agency, (c) Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (d) Rural Payments Agency and (e) Veterinary Medicines Doctorate (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

George Eustice: The table below shows the number of staff paid below the London Living Wage, working inside and outside of Greater London, in the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences, Rural Payments Agency and Veterinary Medicines Directorate. OrganisationInside Greater LondonOutside Greater LondonAgriculture and Horticulture Development BoardN/A6Animal and Plant Health Agency07Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture ScienceN/A71Rural Payments Agency00Veterinary Medicines DirectorateN/A0 All permanent staff working outside of Greater London are paid above both the National Living Wage (£7.83 per hour) and non-London Living Wage (£8.75 per hour).

Fisheries

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria his Department uses to determine the allocation of fishing opportunities.

George Eustice: The UK allocates quota annually to ensure that fishing opportunities are allocated for the benefit of the whole of the UK, taking into account the needs of those within existing Producer Organisations (POs) and the needs of the under 10m fleet. The methodology for this allocation is set out in the Quota Management Rules, published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410774/UK_2015_Quota_management_rules.pdf. The UK has long championed sustainable fisheries and we continue to place scientific-based management at the heart of policy. The UK’s coastal fishing communities are immensely valuable and supporting them, along with the inshore fleet, is a central tenet of our work.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce maximum five-year sentences for the worst cases of animal cruelty.

David Rutley: The Government will introduce the necessary legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty from 6 months’ imprisonment to 5 years’ imprisonment, as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Japan: Whales

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the government of Japan to support the international ban on whaling.

George Eustice: During the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe’s, visit to the UK on the 9 January, the Prime Minister expressed her disappointment at Japan’s decision to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and encouraged the Government to reconsider.

Dogs: Meat

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has plans to prohibit the consumption of dog meat in the UK.

David Rutley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, Dr Lisa Cameron, on 12 November 2018, PQ UIN 187378.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of duck welfare rules for commercial duck farms; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The UK already has some of the highest standards of animal welfare, underpinned by existing legislation and farmed animal welfare codes. We are committed to maintaining our high animal welfare standards and to keep improving where possible. The welfare of ducks is provided for in the general provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. Defra has a statutory duck welfare code which encourages high standards of husbandry. In addition, the main farm assurance schemes have standards in place which their members must also comply with, which set requirements to ensure the health and welfare of commercially produced ducks.

Home Office

Immigration: Judicial Review

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many judicial reviews there were of negative conclusive grounds decisions made by UK Visas and Immigration in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many judicial reviews of negative conclusive grounds decisions made by UK Visas and Immigration led to positive conclusive grounds decisions being made for the same claimant in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Caroline Nokes: The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports are available via the following links:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slaveryThe specific information you have requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify judicial review challenges specifically related to negative conclusive grounds decisions.

Immigration: Appeals

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests for reconsideration there were of negative conclusive grounds decisions made by UK Visas and Immigration in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests for reconsideration of negative conclusive grounds decisions made by UK Visas and Immigration led to positive grounds decisions in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Caroline Nokes: The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports are available via the following links:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slaveryRequests for reconsideration of negative conclusive grounds decisions can be made in line with the published policy which is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/victims-of-trafficking-guidance-for-competent-bodiesThe specific information you have requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify requests for reconsideration that were rejected because they were not in line with policy or those that were refused due to insufficient grounds for reconsideration. In addition, it is not possible to distinguish solely from database records whether a reconsideration case type was the result of a reconsideration request as defined in the published policy, the result of litigation or the result of the reconsideration of a suspended case.

Escape Rooms: Fires

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice he provides operators of escape rooms on fire safety and evacuation procedures in the event of a fire in locked rooms.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice he has provided to fire authorities on fire safety in escape rooms.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all non-domestic premises, including those which feature experiential escape rooms. Under the Fire Safety Order, the person responsible for the premises must undertake and review regularly a fire risk assessment of the premises and put in place and maintain adequate and appropriate fire precaution measures to mitigate against the risk to life from fire. This includes ensuring adequate escape routes.The Government has made available a suite of premises-specific guidance to support responsible persons in complying with the provisions of the Fire Safety Order. These are available here: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-risk-assessments.As the enforcing authority for the Fire Safety Order in their area, each local fire and rescue authority is required by the Fire and Rescue National Framework to have in place a risk-based inspection programme for auditing compliance. Where a potential new risk emerges, it is for individual authorities to determine how best to use their resources to reduce the risks facing the communities.

Police: Standards

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to support improvement in police forces that are rated as inadequate or requiring improvement by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office underpins accountability for police performance, in part by funding Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect the efficiency and effectiveness of forces. Additionally, we established the College of Policing to set standards and identify good practice.The inspectorate runs a force monitoring process through which forces may receive support to help improve their performance from organisations such as the College of Policing or the National Police Chiefs Council. We expect all Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to take responsibility for ensuring performance improvements are made in response to inspection findings and recommendations.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) her Department and (b) each of her Department's arms length bodies in 2018.

Alistair Burt: a) The information required to answer this question for DFID is not centrally held and could only be collated at disproportionate cost.b) Neither ICAI nor The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK paid for any legal advice in 2018.

UNRWA

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the long-term viability of the UN Relief and Works Agency.

Alistair Burt: Last year the UK led international efforts to help ensure UNRWA’s essential services were maintained, by almost doubling our original core support of £33.5 million to £65.5 million, including £5 million for Gaza, and lobbying other donors to step up to ensure the funding burden is shared more evenly across the international community. Both the UK and UNRWA recognise the need for UNRWA to reform to ensure its sustainability, and UNRWA has undertaken significant cost-cutting measures to respond to budget cuts and growing need. We welcome UNRWA’s efforts to broaden its donor base and are encouraging partners to step up with more funding and more predictable disbursements. The UK has a multi-year commitment to support UNRWA and we plan to continue to fund the Agency in line with that agreement. This will provide basic services such as health and education to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and the region. A long-term solution requires a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for Palestinian refugees. Until that happens the UK remains firmly committed to supporting UNRWA and Palestinian refugees.

Yemen: Food Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the UK will take to ensure food aid reaches people who need it in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is playing a leading role in combating hunger in Yemen through our £170 million in aid this financial year.   We channel UK funds through UN agencies and international NGOs with a strong record of delivering and monitoring assistance. These organisations do everything they can under the most difficult circumstances to negotiate access including in areas of active conflict so that aid does get to those who need it most.   Through the World Food Programme this year the UK is providing cash and vouchers to feed the equivalent of 4 million people for a month. In addition to regular reporting and monitoring of conditions on the ground, the UK and our partners independently monitor our aid programmes, providing third party verification of delivery.

Yemen: Central Banks

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what financial support the UK is providing to the Yemeni central bank.

Alistair Burt: The UK is not providing any financial support the Central Bank of Yemen. The UK worked diplomatically with the Central Bank of Yemen to release $270m of hard currency, provided by Saudi Arabia, to support importers bringing in food to Yemen. This resulted in an appreciation of the Riyal to pre-crisis levels and a subsequent reduction in food prices, helping ordinary Yemenis buy food in the markets.

Poliomyelitis: Vaccination

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with social media platforms on ending the spread of anti-vaccination fake news relating to polio vaccination and eradication programmes in (a) Pakistan and (b) Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: Through DFID’s communications and digital team, we provide regular messaging on the positive impact of immunisation globally through our support to global organisations including GAVI - the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). GPEI monitors the anti-vaccination social media news, and is aware of online videos and text messages have been prominent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Through our support to GPEI we ensure that strong communications and social mobilisation platforms are in place to dispel myths and encourage immunisation. In both Pakistan and Afghanistan GPEI works closely with local partner organisations and civil society groups on the ground with good access to communities in order to increase the understanding and importance of polio vaccinations, and increase the numbers being vaccinated.

Department for International Development: Pay

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information her Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in her Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.

Alistair Burt: DFID has 2 HQ buildings in the UK, one in East Kilbride and one in Whitehall. We have outsourced our requirement for total facilities management services to Interserve as part of an Affiliates Cluster arrangement managed by the Cabinet Office.All cleaning, catering and security staff are paid the national living wage or above in our East Kilbride office and the London living wage or above in the Whitehall office.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants were working on projects in the Major Projects Portfolio in (a) June 2016 and (b) December 2018.

Oliver Dowden: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 11 January 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) comprises the most complex and strategically significant projects and programmes across government. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) supports the successful delivery of these projects through direct support, independent assurance reviews and by leading the project delivery profession across government.In line with the Government's major projects transparency policy, decisions on the release of data Data on the number of civil servants working on GMPP projects in individual government departments is a matter for them not held centrally. However, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff working at the IPA from 2016/17 is below:Financial Year2016/172017/182018/19Number of FTE148182177

Oliver Dowden: The Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) comprises the most complex and strategically significant projects and programmes across government. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) supports the successful delivery of these projects through direct support, independent assurance reviews and by leading the project delivery profession across government.In line with the Government's major projects transparency policy, decisions on the release of data Data on the number of civil servants working on GMPP projects in individual government departments is a matter for them not held centrally. However, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff working at the IPA from 2016/17 is below:Financial Year2016/172017/182018/19Number of FTE148182177

Cabinet Office: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff at the (a) Boundary Commission for England, (b) Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland, (c) Crown Commercial Service, (d) Government Property Agency and (e) Privy Council Office (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Oliver Dowden: The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland is sponsored by the Northern Ireland Office, not the Cabinet Office, and I cannot therefore provide an answer to point (b) in each of your questions. No staff at the (a) Boundary Commission for England, (c) Crown Commercial Service, (d) Government Property Agency and (e) Privy Council Office working inside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour. At the Crown Commercial Service, 18 staff working outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour. No staff in the other bodies mentioned working outside Greater London, are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour, and all staff are paid above the National Living Wage of £7.83 per hour.

Cabinet Office: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff at the (a) Boundary Commission for England, (b) Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland, (c) Crown Commercial Service, (d) Government Property Agency and (e) Privy Council Office (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Oliver Dowden: The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland is sponsored by the Northern Ireland Office, not the Cabinet Office, and I cannot therefore provide an answer to point (b) in each of your questions. No staff at the (a) Boundary Commission for England, (c) Crown Commercial Service, (d) Government Property Agency and (e) Privy Council Office working inside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour. At the Crown Commercial Service, 18 staff working outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour. No staff in the other bodies mentioned working outside Greater London, are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage of £9.00 per hour, and all staff are paid above the National Living Wage of £7.83 per hour.

Government Departments: Procurement

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the due diligence undertaken by the Government in advance of awarding public contracts to private sector providers as a result of the collapse of Carillion.

Oliver Dowden: Contracts are never awarded lightly: each has an agreed and robust process. Government has always been compliant with public procurement regulations and follows these diligently when assessing the suitability of suppliers to deliver a particular contract.As noted by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s speeches in June and November 2018, the Cabinet Office is currently taking forward a package of reforms to Government outsourcing policy. This includes creating a ‘playbook’ of guidelines, rules and processes for departments to follow when they outsource.We are also reviewing how we assess suppliers’ financial health and what financial information we should seek during the procurement process. This will enable the Government to assess the level of risk that should be accepted, the extent to which we rely on historical financial information as an indicator of future financial health, and whether it is appropriate to seek and rely on forecast information. We will be issuing new guidance for departments on assessing the financial and economic standing of bidders in the coming months.

Healthcare Environmental Services

Deidre Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the minutes and notes of meetings between his officials and Healthcare Environmental Services.

Oliver Dowden: There has been one face to face meeting between cross government officials and Healthcare Environmental Services held at the Cabinet Office. It is not appropriate to publish the minutes of that meeting. These were extremely sensitive discussions about managing a very difficult and pressing problem. With respect to disclosure of correspondence, it would be entirely inappropriate to publish this for many reasons:it would be prejudicial to commercial interests, not just of HES but other organisations involved in attempting to resolve the matter (e.g. the current contractor, Mitie)it would be prejudicial to the efficient working of government, since some of it is in the sphere of policy formationit includes sensitive information disclosed on a confidential basis by the Environmental Agency and other partiesit includes information relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation into HES which it would clearly not be appropriate to disclosethere is also the potential for some of that information to be protected by legal privilege.

Healthcare Environmental Services

Deidre Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what correspondence his Department has had with organisations on Healthcare Environmental Services in the last year.

Oliver Dowden: There has been one face to face meeting between cross government officials and Healthcare Environmental Services held at the Cabinet Office. It is not appropriate to publish the minutes of that meeting. These were extremely sensitive discussions about managing a very difficult and pressing problem. With respect to disclosure of correspondence, it would be entirely inappropriate to publish this for many reasons:it would be prejudicial to commercial interests, not just of HES but other organisations involved in attempting to resolve the matter (e.g. the current contractor, Mitie)it would be prejudicial to the efficient working of government, since some of it is in the sphere of policy formationit includes sensitive information disclosed on a confidential basis by the Environmental Agency and other partiesit includes information relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation into HES which it would clearly not be appropriate to disclosethere is also the potential for some of that information to be protected by legal privilege.

Brexit

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 16 January 2019, Official Report, column 1269, if she will meet with (a) leaders (b) senior members and (c) Members of the Legislative Assembly from political parties represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly that are not represented in the House of Commons.

Mr David Lidington: There are no meetings currently planned. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets with Northern Ireland political parties on a regular basis.

Prescription Drugs: Death

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the change in the number of deaths caused by an excess of prescription drugs being the primary cause was between 2011 and 2016.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 141.8 KB)

National Cyber Security Centre: Huawei

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates he has held discussions with the National Cyber Security Centre to discuss the role of Huawei in the UK's Critical National Infrastructure.

Mr David Lidington: I receive regular updates from the National Cyber Security Centre on the security of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure and hold regular discussions with other Ministers on these matters. The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) operates under a set of arrangements between Huawei and Government to mitigate any potential risks arising from the involvement of Huawei in parts of the UK’s critical national infrastructure. The latest findings and recommendations from HCSEC can be found in their 2018 Oversight Board report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/huawei-cyber-security-evaluation-centre-oversight-board-annual-report-2018”

National Cyber Security Centre: Huawei

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre to restrict the access of Huawei to the UK's Critical National Infrastructure.

Mr David Lidington: I receive regular updates from the National Cyber Security Centre on the security of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure and hold regular discussions with other Ministers on these matters. The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) operates under a set of arrangements between Huawei and Government to mitigate any potential risks arising from the involvement of Huawei in parts of the UK’s critical national infrastructure. The latest findings and recommendations from HCSEC can be found in their 2018 Oversight Board report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/huawei-cyber-security-evaluation-centre-oversight-board-annual-report-2018”

Government Departments: Publications

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Government document entitled The role of communication in rebuilding political trust in full.

Chloe Smith: This document is a review of the latest academic literature, ensuring civil servants continue to communicate effectively with the public, and will not be published.

Department for International Trade

EU External Trade: Trade Agreements

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which nations that have trade agreements with the EU have agreed to continue those agreements with the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: Discussions with all partner countries have demonstrated a commitment to finding a pragmatic way to ensure continuity of our existing international agreements.As part of the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU agreed to notify its treaty partners that the UK be treated as a Member State for the purposes of EU international agreements during the Implementation Period (IP). This includes trade agreements. A number have already publicly welcomed this approach (Library deposit of 13 September DEP2018-0926 provides a list of countries). Others are, understandably, waiting for the notification to be issued before responding formally. The Government will continue to do the responsible thing and prepare for all eventualities with partner countries, including a ‘no deal’ scenario. However, when we reach agreement will depend on the progress of these ongoing discussions. The Government will inform Parliament and the public when agreements are signed.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sustainability of the Press Review

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to publish the Cairncross Review before 31 January 2018.

Jeremy Wright: Dame Frances Cairncross will decide when the report is produced. We will publish the report as soon as possible thereafter.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Legal Opinion

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.

Michael Ellis: (a) A large proportion of DCMS's legal advice is provided by the Government Legal Department (GLD) on an annual fixed fee basis. Additional legal advice is obtained from GLD on an hourly rate basis and the Department regularly engages private sector legal services from Counsel and external legal firms. Hourly rates are not available without reviewing individual invoices from the various legal service providers, which would incur disproportionate cost. Advice from counsel is, save for very limited and exceptional circumstances, provided at rates which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/attorney-generals-panel-counsel-practical-information#rates. (b) This information is not held centrally and to collect this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Public Bodies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff at (a) Arts Council England, (b) Big Lottery Fund, (c) the British Film Institute, (d) the British Library and (e) the British Museum (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the London Living Wage.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff at (a) Arts Council England, (b) Big Lottery Fund, (c) the British Film Institute, (d) the British Library and (e) the British Museum (i) inside and (ii) outside Greater London are paid at a rate below the Real Living Wage.

Michael Ellis: The situation at each named organisation, at 16 January 2019, is set out in the table below.  OrganisationNumber of staff paid below the London Living Wage inside Greater LondonNumber of staff paid below the London Living Wage outside Greater LondonNumber of staff paid below the Real Living Wage inside Greater LondonNumber of staff paid below the Real Living Wage outside Greater LondonArts Council England01400Big Lottery Fund075029 [1]British Film Institute0000British Library0000British Museum164 [2]000 [1] The Big Lottery Fund is an accredited Living Wage employer. The new rates are announced in November each year with a six month window for organisations to implement the changes. When Big Lottery Fund’s annual pay award is implemented, any required increases are backdated to 1 April so all employees are in line with the real living wage from the previous November. This approach has been agreed with the Living Wage Foundation [2] There are 164 individuals receiving under £10.55 per hour - but no less than £10.20 per hour (the London Living Wage at 1 April 2018) - at the British Museum following the increase to the London Living Wage in November 2018. The next scheduled pay review at the British Museum is 1st April 2019.

Culture: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department has allocated to arts and culture projects in Havering Borough in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: As outlined in the table below, since April 2013, Arts Council England has invested almost £4.5 million in arts and culture projects in Havering Borough. This includes regular funding to National Portfolio Organisations, such as Havering Theatre Trust, as well as National Lottery Grants for the Arts, Project Grants and Strategic funding.2013/20142014/20152015/20162016/20172017/20182018/2019 (To 16/01/2019)National Portfolio Organisations£ 275,913£ 277,032£ 277,032£ 277,032£ 277,032£ 277,032Music Education Hubs£ 277,660£ 287,012£ 370,905£ 372,277£ 370,618£ 366,770Grants for the Arts / Project Grants£ 32,420£ 45,247£ 32,014£ 73,736£ 53,648£ 101,658Other£ -£ -£ -£ -£ -£ 359,810Total£ 585,993£ 609,291£ 679,951£ 723,045£ 701,298£ 1,105,270

Commemorative Plaques: Cheltenham

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance this Department has made available to local community groups seeking to install a blue plaque commemorating key (a) local figures, (b) establishments and (c) the Blue Moon Club in Cheltenham.

Michael Ellis: The English Heritage blue plaque scheme, which is limited to London, links the people of the past with the buildings of the present. The scheme is managed by English Heritage and follows guidance set out by them. However, there are many other plaque schemes throughout the country in various cities and towns. More than seventy civic societies have worked together to standardise the schemes and each of these has a set of guidance for assessment. A register of other plaque schemes can be found and downloaded on the English Heritage website at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/visit/blue-plaques/propose-plaque/other-plaque-schemes.pdf . The Cheltenham Civic Society has further information on their website, https://cheltenhamcivicsociety.org.uk/.

Cybercrime

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people have been supported through the cyber security critical national infrastructure apprenticeship.

Margot James: As of January 2019, 46 people are participating in the cyber security critical national infrastructure apprenticeship scheme pilot. The first apprenticeships will be completed by April 2019.

Huawei: USA

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on Huawei; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: DCMS Ministers and officials speak with international counterparts, including the US, on a range of matters, including telecoms. DCMS is leading a cross-government review of the UK telecoms supply chain. The Review is considering the full UK market position, including economic prosperity, corporate and consumer effects, and the quality, resilience and security standards of equipment with a view to establishing a robust supply chain policy framework that balances security and prosperity. The terms of reference for the review are available on gov.uk.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2019 to Question 206713 on Broadband: Rural Answers, what steps his Department takes to measure and report on (a) BT's capital contribution to the rural broadband roll-out and (b) BT gainshare or clawback.

Margot James: a) In life contractual reporting is required from all suppliers during build. This includes quarterly financial reporting on all spend to deliver the contract, including supplier contribution. Each payment request from the supplier must include supporting evidence that the costs are genuine and comply with the contractual definition of qualifying expenditure before payment can be made.Once build has completed and been signed off by the contracting authority, all of the costs declared over the life of the build, including those funded by the supplier, are reviewed and compared to the contract baseline to confirm their eligibility against the contract. At this point, the final supplier contribution is established and agreed. b) Suppliers are required to periodically report on actual take-up against forecast, and therefore any associated take-up clawback, during the build and for a defined period after build has complete.

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, by what date his Department plans to have brought forward legislative proposals to extend the scope of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to cover relationships between sports coaches and 16-17 year olds in their care.

Mims Davies: We continue to work with my colleagues at the Ministry of Justice, who are responsible for the Sexual Offences Act 2003, to ensure that sports coaches are included as a ‘position of trust’. The safeguarding of young people is one of my top priorities, and I want to see this legislative change happen as soon as possible.

Leader of the House

House of Commons: Absent Voting

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Leader of the House, when she plans to table a substantive motion on proxy voting in the House of Commons.

Andrea Leadsom: I have today tabled a motion to facilitate Proxy Voting for the House to agree on 28 January.

Northern Ireland Office

Blood: Contamination

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether it is the Government's policy that victims in Northern Ireland of the infected blood scandal deserve as a matter of urgency the same financial recognition as those in Scotland, England and Wales due to the scandal having taken place under direct rule; and if she will meet representatives from Haemophilia Northern Ireland to discuss their concerns.

John Penrose: I am happy to confirm that The Infected Blood Inquiry is UK-wide and includes Northern Ireland. The contaminated blood scandal was an appalling tragedy and I urge all victims from Northern Ireland, or family members of victims, to engage with the Public Inquiry and I acknowledge the work of Haemophilia Northern Ireland to support some of those affected to do this. The Inquiry terms of reference include consideration of the question of financial assistance, including for those in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Office: Legal Costs

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the highest hourly rate was that (a) her Department and (b) each of her Department's arms-length bodies paid for legal advice in 2018.

John Penrose: The Northern Ireland Office uses legal services from a variety of providers, however the information requested is not separately recorded. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.The Northern Ireland Office has three executive non-departmental public bodies – the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Independent Reporting Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body – the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As these bodies are independent of Government, the hon Member may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters – contact details are set out below:ALBStatusContact DetailsParades Commission for Northern IrelandExecutive NDPBinfo@paradescommission.orgIndependent Reporting CommissionExecutive NDPBenquiries@IRCommission.orgNorthern Ireland Human Rights CommissionExecutive NDPBinformation@nihrc.orgBoundary Commission for Northern IrelandAdvisory NDPBcontact@boundarycommission.org.uk